Tale of the Kurai Kitsune
by ShadowStar91
Summary: He passed on his first attempt, gained a team that cared, a sensei that taught them, and then almost lost it all. Now being placed on a team once more, how will Konoha's Dark Fox handle a stuck up prick and useless fangirl? Slight NaruOC NaruHina SasuSaku
1. 01

**01-** An Unwelcome Welcome

"Now that the students have graduated, we need to decide teams and which jonin shall become their sensei's. Any sug-"

"Hatake Kakashi must become Uchiha-sama's sensei. Nobody else is qualified." An old man sighed as he was interrupted. Sarutobi Hiruzen was an old man, but he was also the Hokage, strongest ninja in the village. He was in a council meeting to decide how to place the new Academy graduates together and who would be best to teach them further. Normally it would just be him and the chunin instructors making these decisions. However this class was full of many prominent clan heirs and as such, he felt the clan heads should get a say if they wished. However that meant a council meeting; and unless it was wartime, calling a council meeting also meant calling in the civilian side. And the civilian side had spent the years since the Uchiha massacre doing any and everything in their power to make sure the only Uchiha left, Sasuke, got whatever he wanted as well as the best of it. It was getting quite annoying.

"Kakashi already has a student and after the incident he has expressed his personal feelings against getting another full team." Sarutobi countered. He knew full well that Kakashi never wanted a team in the first place but the one he was placed with almost three years ago grew on him. Then _it_ happened and he's down to one final student, and neither are wanting to bring in others.

"But who else could teach Uchiha-sama how to use his Sharingan when he awakens it?" Another civilian pointed out. Most of the civilians nodded in agreement and a couple clan heads secretly admitted they actually brought up a valid point.

"Then once he awakens it I can have Kakashi give him private lessons in his spare time on the proper usage of the dojutsu." Hiruzen was really hating the council right now. What started as a simple meeting to let the clan heads offer their own input for their children's education and careers turned into another 'glorify Uchiha-sama' argument. He was getting sick and tired of these. From four years ago when they wanted to force him into the CRA to produce more Sharingan ninja to just last year when they wanted him to graduate early; they wanted to give Sasuke everything without him having to lift a finger.

"Just place him as Uchiha-sama's sensei." Spoke an older woman with pink hair and green eyes. Haruno Masaki, mother to Haruno Sakura and owner of a small business, was the only civilian council member to actually have a child in the graduating class this year. So if she was offering her input about her own daughter, the old Hokage would've been glad to hear it. However she was the staunchest supporter of the 'glorify Uchiha-sama' movement, so to speak. "Hatake-san is only teaching the demon anyways. It's not like that thing needs anything." Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, as did a few of the shinobi side of the council. "Uchiha-sama needs the best we have to teach him and that's Hatake-san. To hell with the demon brat, you're the Hokage. Just order him to teach the boy and everything will be fine."

"You're correct, I am the Hokage and my orders are to be followed." Hiruzen started, getting many of the civilians to smile. "So I order you to never refer to young Naruto-kun as a 'demon' again or I'll have you removed from the council." He ordered, causing those who smiled to change to scowls. "Ever since the incident, Naruto-kun has latched onto the only stable figure in his life, his sensei Kakashi. If I removed him from his life there's no telling the effect it could have on the boy. As a jinchuriki, his mental and emotional well-being is just as important as his physical. I will not be removing Naruto-kun from Kakashi's tutelage."

"If I may, Hokage-sama?" Yamanaka Inoichi asked. Head of the Yamanaka clan and one of the top interrogators and psychiatrists in Konoha, also the proud father of Yamanaka Ino. At the old mans' nod Inoichi continued. "I saw to Naruto after the incident and I've been checking up on him on a bi-monthly basis since. I can honestly say that removing Kakashi from his life would break what he has left. No matter what else is decided here, that is something that _must not_ be done. Naruto already lost control to the Kyuubi from a loss once, removing Kakashi would likely cause it to happen again." This got many council members to pale, while some were still scowling at how nobody would give Sasuke to Kakashi to teach. "However," Inoichi continued, "They provide a valid point about Kakashi being the only one who could teach Sasuke about the Sharingan. What I suggest is a compromise; talk to Kakashi and convince him to take on another two students to have a full team again. He'll stay with Naruto like they both want and then place Sasuke under his care as well to placate the other council members."

Hiruzen sighed. He knew he could do that and was hoping nobody would suggest it simply because he had no argument against why not. He honestly couldn't see any reason outside of Kakashi's reluctance to teach a full team again. But as a Kage and as ninja, he had to give out orders that weren't liked by either yet still had to be followed. Many of the civilian council were seeing this as the only way to get Kakashi to teach Sasuke since they couldn't take him away from Naruto without risk. And then Inoichi spoke another reason and Sarutobi lost his only hope for arguing against it. "I also think it would benefit Naruto himself. He's been cold and distant to everyone outside of Kakashi since and he needs to make some friends his own age. This would easily be for the best since Sasuke has the same problem making friends he does, the two would hopefully be able to connect and perhaps help each other. Personally I find this to be the best option. Place Sasuke and another graduate with Naruto under Kakashi, it would be best for everyone."

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke was happy, or rather as close to happy he's been since the massacre. He had just graduated from the Ninja Academy as the 'Rookie of the Year', the top student in his age group. In fact the teachers were even saying he was one of the best ever. But how could he not be? He was an Uchiha; they were always the best, the elite. And now with his graduation into the ninja ranks of Konohagakure no Sato, he was ready to begin his life's mission of killing the man that ruined his life. His elder brother Uchiha Itachi.<p>

So as Sasuke sat in his seat near the window plotting his vengeance, he was also patiently waiting for their sensei to arrive and tell them what was going to happen next. Sasuke wore his ever so common outfit of a blue shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back and white shorts. Simple, bold, and it declared his clan's power to anybody smart enough to recognize the fan. He held his hands in front of his face and his eyes seemed to be staring off into space but that was normal. Any moment at the Academy when he wasn't being taught the skills he needed he would assume that pose and just plan out his future encounter against his brother. Different every time too, but that was mainly because he didn't know when or where he would encounter Itachi. One thing remained the same though in all of his 'vengeance scenes' though, every one ended with Itachi dead at his feet.

Sasuke's inner plotting was disturbed as two girls ran in through the door and started arguing about who arrived first. One was blonde with blue, pupil less eyes. Her hair was made up into a ponytail and she wore a purple two piece outfit and then used the common ninja wraps to cover herself underneath the cloth. The other had bright pink hair and wore a red one piece with white outlines and a white circle on the back. The two were butting heads as they argued and Sasuke held back a groan of annoyance. Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, his two biggest fan girls in the village.

Contrary to the belief of the many boys of the Academy, he was not gay. The reason he never gave his fan girls the time of day was simple and twofold. One; he wasn't going to bother with a relationship until after he achieved his life's goal of killing his brother. And two; when he finally would get into a relationship he wanted it to be with a strong kunoichi that wasn't afraid to tell him no or assert her own opinion. A useless yes man was just annoying and irritating. If any of these fan girls were to take their training seriously and weren't afraid of standing up to him then he just may have taken one on a date, just to see what it would be like. So far the only girl that didn't bow down at his feet was the class Hyuuga, Hinata. But she never showed interest in anybody and she, while better than most girls, wasn't very strong. So Sasuke just ignored her, like everyone in class seemed to do since she never drew attention to herself.

Sasuke's thoughts were again disrupted as Ino and Sakura fought over the chair next to him. This was one of the few times Sasuke regretted focusing so intently on his training. He had no friends so he couldn't have one sit next to him to avoid the daily battle the two fan girls had. Still though, he dealt with it. Friends would just slow him down and the annoying battles, if anything, gave him experience in developing a good poker face. Eventually Sakura claimed the chair and started to try and ask him on a date or get him to talk period. Sasuke stayed silent as he once more delved into his mind to plot against his brother.

"Good morning class." A voice called out. Every one turned their attention to the man that entered, Umino Iruka. He wore the standard chunin outfit of blue long sleeved shirt with blue shinobi pants and a green flak jacket. Covering his forehead was the headband of the village ninja and across his nose was a long horizontal scar nobody knew where he got. "Today you are all genin of the village. You are now ninja of Konoha and will now go out to start your careers. No matter what happens, know that I am proud to have taught each and every one of you. From today onwards, we will be comrades, not just sensei and student." He spoke with conviction and confidence that had many of the students smiling at his words. Iruka cleared his throat before grabbing a clipboard from his desk. "Now, you will all be split into groups of three and place under a jonin sensei who will further your education along with leading you on missions for the village and the Hokage. Take care of each other and follow your teacher's orders and I can promise you that you'll go far."

Sasuke held back another groan. He was being place on a team, but others would just slow him down. Even the second and third students in the Academy were too slow to keep up with him. Sasuke tuned out Iruka's voice, only paying enough attention to recognize his own name. If he was going to be paired with a couple losers then he was hoping he'd at least get the two best. It was his only hope.

"Team Seven will be Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata. Your jonin sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai. Team Eight is Nara Shikamaru, Akamichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino. Your sensei is Sarutobi Asuma. And that's every team." Iruka concluded as he set the clipboard down. But a couple were confused; they paid attention and noticed there were two leftover students. Sakura, being one of them, raised he hand to ask what was going on.

"Um sensei? What about me and Sasuke-kun? You didn't assign us a team." She pointed out and now the students that weren't paying attention noticed and were. Iruka's eyes went wide before he gave a small embarrassed grin.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention it. You see, there weren't enough graduating students this year so you two are instead being paired with a student who recently lost his teammates."

"Lost them? What do you mean?" Sakura asked. "And who're we being place with?"

"I mean he's no longer on a team with them. They might've died on a mission. Or perhaps it's simply that they were promoted and he wasn't. There can be many reasons why someone loses their teammates but it's usually nothing to worry about. As for who, he'll be coming here with his sensei to pick you up." Iruka explained. Sakura looked satisfied and was happy that she was going to be with her Sasuke-kun.

Sasuke on the other hand was torn between cursing and praising his luck. Cursing it because he was with Sakura and another person. Praising it because said mystery member has been a ninja for at least a year meaning he had to have experience and could handle himself. So he knew at least one person on the team would be able to handle themselves. Iruka congratulated them once more and then left telling them they had an hour to themselves before they had to be back to be picked up by their sensei's. Most of the students simply went to lunch with their new teammates while Sasuke just left without a word to contemplate his new situation while Sakura tried to ask him to lunch but was ignored.

* * *

><p>An hour later and all the students were back and sitting next to their team chatting about one thing or another. Sasuke was once more in his seat and common pose with Sakura sitting next to him looking slightly down that she didn't get to eat with her crush. Then shortly after jonin began coming in one by one and picking up their teams. Pretty soon only teams 7 and 8 plus Sasuke and Sakura were left. The door opened again and they turned their head to see who it was. Imagine their surprise when it was a boy their age.<p>

He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt underneath a black jacket with a red swirl on the back. His right hand had on a fingerless black glove while his left had a small silver gauntlet that covered his hand and arm up to the elbow. He was wearing the standard shinobi pants colored black and dark blue ninja sandals. Tied to his right leg was a kunai pouch while his headband was tied to his head by a dark red cloth with long straps that went down his back. But the most identifying features on him were easily his face and hair. Three long whisker marks on each cheek and spiky yellow hair. And then there were his eyes. They were a deep bright blue, but if you looked close enough you could tell there was anger and sorrow behind the seemingly bright and happy look they gave off.

As everyone stared at them his eyes swept over the class. Sasuke noticed that he wasn't just doing it to see who was there. He had experience, his guard was relaxed but not down. His eyes while looking at the students were also scanning the room for anything of interest. The way he stood showed he was ready to snap into position at the slightest hesitation. This kid was a warrior, a true ninja. Sasuke was barely keeping the smirk off his face hoping this was to be his new teammate.

The ninja's eyes seemed to rest on Kiba for a moment longer than everyone else before he turned to the rest of the genin. "Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, follow me." He called out before turning and leaving without a word. Sasuke finally let his smirk through before getting up and walking out with Sakura following quickly. They left and followed the boy out of the Academy and to one of the many training grounds Konoha had for their ninja. He stopped at one that had three logs standing at its center, a small stream running through to their left, and a large tree all in the middle of a clearing surrounded by trees. The ninja turned around and looked them over closely; quite aware of the fact they were doing the same to him. After a few minutes of silent staring Sakura couldn't take it anymore and spoke.

"So who're you? And who's our sensei?" She asked. Sasuke and the boy broke the slight staring contest they seemed to have fallen into before looking at her. The boy took a deep breath and then walked over to one of the logs before sitting on it.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and _my_ sensei is Hatake Kakashi." He said with a cold voice. Sakura seemed confused but Sasuke scowled.

"What the hell's your problem?"

"My problem, Uchiha, is that I never wanted new teammates. Sensei and I were fine on our own but the council was throwing a fit to get him to teach you. The only compromise Hokage-sama could do was to place you on my team. They wanted to just drop me and have him exclusively teach you." Naruto spat out with a glare at Sasuke. The boy just smirked in response.

"So? I'm an Uchiha, we always get the best." Sakura started fawning over how cool Sasuke was but Naruto just grit his teeth.

"Shut the hell up!" He shouted at her. She looked shocked that he would instantly yell at her but before she could respond his attention was back on Sasuke. "Listen here _Uchiha_, I don't give a shit about how great your clan _was_. You're the last one in Konoha and as such the council is just kissing your ass in the hopes you won't go nuts and leave like Itachi did. And besides, out on the battlefield, a name means shit. You could be named Kami-sama herself but it doesn't matter if you don't have the skills to back it up. So don't walk around thinking you're top dog because I can guarantee you that I can kick your ass so fast you wouldn't even notice its been kicked. And I was the dobe of my class three years ago."

"Hn, like I'd ever lose to a dobe." Sasuke grunted out with a smirk still in place. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Wanna bet?" Sasuke just scoffed.

"Bring it do-!" Sasuke never finished as he was on the ground with a kunai to his throat and a very painful red mark on his left cheek as Naruto was kneeling over him staring right at him.

"Dead. And you never saw me coming. Your name means nothing to me or anybody else that has any actual skill. Until you can back it up, keep that ego of yours in check. Or I will." Naruto spoke clearly as the entire field seemed quiet and for the first time since his brother's psychotic massacre of his clan; Sasuke felt fear. The cold metal of the kunai was pressed right up against his adam's apple. Naruto was staring down at him with a look of hate and indifference. And it was true what he said; Sasuke never saw him coming. In fact he hadn't even seen him twitch.

"You can't do that to Sasuke-kun! Let him-!" Sakura started before going silent as a kunai was pressed up against her neck from behind. Sasuke and Sakura looked to see another Naruto holding the weapon at her throat with the same look as the other one.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. (Shadow Clone Technique) My most used jutsu, and my most basic. Unlike the parlor trick clones taught at the Academy, mine are real. And when they dispel, I gain their memories and any leftover chakra they had." Naruto explained before withdrawing the weapons and stepping back. The Naruto behind Sakura disappeared in a puff of smoke while Sasuke slowly got up and glared at Naruto. Sakura wanted to glared at him but was too busy trying to calm her heart rate down first. "I don't care if you were the dobe or the rookie of the year, you're fresh out of the Academy and that means you suck. The council may have forced you on sensei and me but that doesn't mean I have to put up with any of your shit. Keep your ego in check Uchiha. And Haruno, drop the fan girl act or I will slit your throat. You are a disgrace to kunoichi everywhere if you think that shit will fly on a real mission. You'll only get yourself and others killed." Naruto ordered before sitting back down on the log. Sasuke grit his teeth as he glared at Naruto and Sakura took a few deep breaths before looking around.

"Um, where's sensei? I just noticed he wasn't here." Naruto rolled his eyes as now Sasuke looked at her in disbelief.

"You had best start training harder Haruno, if you only just now noticed he's not here." Naruto said. She glared at him but a cold glance back had her avert her gaze. "Kakashi-sensei is late to anything and everything that's not an A or S-ranked mission. So anytime he says to meet somewhere, feel free to show up an hour or two later than the time he picks." They both stared at him like he was joking and he just sighed. "No, I am not kidding. Me and my team thought it was stupid first too and we'd show up on time just to see if he would one day to catch us off guard but he doesn't. I'm dead serious; baring A and S-ranked missions he will always be somewhere around two or three hours late. The only reason he's allowed to get away with it is because he's one of the top jonin in the village; easily at the top of the very small list of potential Hokage's should the Sandaime retire again." Naruto explained. Both Sasuke and Sakura looked at him and then each other before looking back at him to find him looking up at the sky.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Sasuke demanded. When Naruto turned his face down and glared at him he flinched but didn't look away.

"I _think_ I'm annoyed. And I _know_ I'm your better." Sasuke growled and Naruto scoffed. "Want to hear a trick? I can tell what the two of you are thinking." This got Sakura to look at him in confusion while Sasuke kept up his glare. Naruto just slightly smirked and started. "You, Uchiha, are thinking about how dare I not automatically respect you for your clan. About how angry you are at how easily I subdued you. And about how the girl next to you is going to hold you back since it's obvious I won't." That got Sasuke to look shocked as he seemed to be exactly right. Sakura glanced over at Sasuke but turned her attention back to Naruto when he started on her.

"You, Haruno, are a little harder to read but that's because there's so much going through your mind right now. Mainly though it seems to be shock, anger, fear, and a small amount of sadness and disappointment. Your shocked and fearful of my skills and what the Uchiha seems to think of you. Your angry at me for harming said Uchiha and for shouting at you. And your sad and disappointed that the Uchiha seems to think so little of you." Naruto said. Sakura hung her head as he accurately read her mind.

Suddenly there was a swirl of leaves in front of Naruto and the other two new ninja looked to see a jonin with gravity defying spiky gray hair and his headband tilted to cover one of his eyes. He also wore a cloth that covered his face from his nose down; effectively making it so only one eye was seen on his entire face. "Hey Naruto, do you know where the new students are? I went to the Academy to pick them up but all the students were gone." He asked, completely oblivious to the two others staring at him in shock. Naruto just shook his head at the man and pointed behind him. "Hm? Oh, you went and picked them up already. Well that saves time."

"Your always late and I didn't feel like waiting for three hours for you so I lied about the time to you and grabbed them early."

"Hey Naruto, they look a little scared or angry at you for some reason. Mind explaining?" Kakashi asked as he looked closely at Sakura and Sasuke, completely ignoring Naruto manipulating him slightly and going behind his back. Said blonde just grinned.

"I pulled the mind trick." Kakashi laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Naruto, that's not very nice to do to your new teammates. Just cause she taught you to read a person just from their face doesn't mean you should freak people out and make them think you're a Yamanaka now." He said as Naruto chuckled slightly. "You know, I wonder if she'd be happy you learned to do that so well or angry that you're copying her favorite prank." Kakashi wondered out loud. Naruto just smiled sadly and looked back up at the sky.

"Don't know. I wonder about that myself." He answered. Kakashi just looked at him for a few moments before sighing and turning back to the other two. By now they seemed to have gotten over the shock of him appearing out of nowhere. And slightly over their anger at the blonde in Sakura's case and fear in Sasuke's. So seeing all that, Kakashi decided to start talking and introduce himself.

"Alright, well let's get started then. My name is Hatake Kakashi and from today on I'm going to be your jonin sensei. Why don't we learn a bit more about each other now? Why don't you tell you likes, dislikes, as well as any hobbies you have and your dreams for the future." He spoke, then Naruto flicked a small pebble at the back of his head without looking. Kakashi turned to him and mock glared as the blonde just smirked.

"You're doing it again sensei." Kakashi sighed.

"Right. I'll start. I like dogs and reading my books. A dislike of mine is people who don't like my books. As for hobbies, I mostly just spend my free time reading or spending time with Naruto here. And I don't feel like telling you my dreams for the future." Kakashi said. Naruto sighed and faced them after a small glance at Kakashi.

"At least it's better than the first time you did that." He muttered before clearing his throat. "I like ramen and relaxing atop the Hokage Monument looking over the village. I dislike the ignorant and hateful, the time it takes to cook ramen, as well as the entire village of Iwagakure." This got a couple raised eyebrows but he continued without a care. "My hobbies are gardening and training and my dream is to become the Hokage so that I can protect the village." Sakura and Sasuke looked them over, taking in the information before Sasuke decided he might as well talk.

"I don't really have anything I can claim to like and I don't like far too many things to name. If I had to name something as a hobby it would be that I spend my free time training. And I don't really have a dream for the future cause I know it's going to happen because I _will_ make it happen. I'm going to rebuild my clan… after I kill a certain person." Sasuke said, clenching his fists and looking down towards the end of his little 'show-and-tell'. Sakura looked at him with a blush thinking he was 'so cool' and other such fan girl related subjects as Kakashi seemed impassive and Naruto just scowled at the attitude he had. They all then turned their attention to Sakura and she seemed to realize they were no waiting on her.

"Um… I like, I mean the person I like is…" She muttered as she snuck a glance at Sasuke, though they all saw it. "My hobbies are…" Again another glance towards the Uchiha. "My dreams…" A third glance and by this time they all were getting annoyed at her behavior.

"Dislikes?" Kakashi asked when she seemed to get lost in her dream world of Sasuke.

"Huh? Oh uh, this girl named Ino and people who make fun of me." She responded. Kakashi just nodded his head and started speaking.

"Okay, you two. Before we can go on missions or anything else, I need to know what you can do. So there's going to be a little spar first. Naruto?" Kakashi gestured as the blonde stood up from the log and walked over to the side. "Now, fight him with everything you've got. We need to see what you have so I know what to train you both in."

"Um, sensei? Who should he fight first?" Sakura asked. This got Naruto to laugh.

"Oh no, he didn't mean one on one. Both of you, same time, right now. Bring it."

* * *

><p>I can guess some of my current readers are getting pissed at me for starting yet another story when I still have so many going on but sorry. I can't help it. I'm not abandoning any of my other stories though so don't worry if I don't update them soon. I just get stuck with other random ideas and just have to type them up right away or they won't leave me be.<p>

Okay, the basic premise about this story is that Naruto graduated on his very first try, not failing three and then passing due to special conditions. This means he graduated in the class before Neji's since they graduated one class before canon Naruto's. As such, he's been a ninja for longer and has some expieriance. I'm also doing things differently from how I normally do and I'm giving lots of hints towards past events but I'm not going to give any info until certain points. Normally I prefer to explain things right away to try and avoid plotholes but right now I'm going to hide many things. I'll give glimpses of the past either in story flashbacks or in omakes, so look forward to those.

Feel free to ask away in the reviews, but know that I'm not going to answer a lot. Also, the pairing is exactly is NaruHina, no objections and no harem. If you don't like it, get over it it cause I'm not changing it.

So review, favorite and look forward to the next chapter!


	2. 02

**RedEye00 –** Yes I will be providing more info on his former team, either through flashbacks or Omakes mostly. And unlike most of my stories which will or are following canon loosely but with much more original content, this will stick mainly to canon. Some differences, major and minor, but it will mainly stick to canon. And I haven't decided on the length yet, but I know I'm going to go to shippuden guaranteed.

**Reesie-cup4545 –** Naruto is acting like that for a reason, but I won't be keeping him like that forever. And I'll explain why Kakashi is his 'only' support as well as his title eventually. In fact I hint a bit at the title in this chapter.

**Fluffy G –** Why should Naruto be older? Because he graduated earlier? Listen, in canon Naruto failed the exam three times before getting tricked and passing. If he failed three times, that means he took the test three times. Now obviously, since he's the same age in canon after failing three and then passing; that means he took the test early hoping to graduate early as well. That's what happened in my story, he took the test and passed on his first shot rather than what happened in canon. That's the one event that changed from canon to here, he passed on his first try and not through special circumstances after his third. Naruto is the correct age for the story.

**Anonymous Reviewer –** First off, don't diss Vegeta, all hail the prince of saiyens dude. Secondly, that's honestly for the most part how Sasuke acted until he became friends with Naruto. And then he reverted back after leaving Konoha. And finally, where is the civilian council in the manga? The only council meeting ever shown is right after Nagato's attack on Konoha and the only ones there are shinobi, the fire daimyo and his advisors and the elders. Also, if the civilians honestly thought Naruto was the jailer and not the fox then why would they always be calling him demon and monster? Sure, most of the shinobi understood that and treated him with indifference but there were still a few idiots that didn't, like Mizuki. So just get over it. If you don't like stories with these elements then don't read them. Nobody's forcing you to.

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><p><strong>02-<strong> A Hard Lesson

"Okay, you two. Before we can go on missions or anything else, I need to know what you can do. So there's going to be a little spar first. Naruto?" Kakashi gestured as the blonde stood up from the log and walked over to the side. "Now, fight him with everything you've got. We need to see what you have so I know what to train you both in."

"Um, sensei? Who should he fight first?" Sakura asked. This got Naruto to laugh.

"Oh no, he didn't mean one on one. Both of you, same time, right now. Bring it." The blond declared as he got into a ready stance. Sasuke smirked thinking he could get some payback early while Sakura still looked unsure.

"But we might really hurt you." Her response got both Naruto and Kakashi to laugh. Kakashi got his under control as Naruto was still trying to make sure he wouldn't fall over.

"Naruto will be fine Sakura. This is going on his third year as a genin now. And he's very powerful. Trust me, if you actually hurt him I'll pay you. Even I have to be careful around him." Kakashi said. Sasuke now looked more determined than ever to fight and got ready as Sakura still looked worried but got into a loose stance. "Now remember you two, don't hold anything back. If you have a trick you think can work, use it. If you have any jutsu outside the Academy three, use them. Naruto will stick to a defensive style only so that you two can show off all of your skills. But you should still be careful and try to take him down quickly because after a while I'll tell him to switch to offense to see how you both handle defense. Now are you all ready?" The silver haired man asked as he looked over the three children. Two looked determined while one was still unsure but willing to try. "Alright then. Hajime!"

Instantly Sasuke rushed forward and threw out a right hook towards Naruto's face. The blond ninja caught the fist in his left before using his other hand to grab Sasuke by the collar and flipping him over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground. Naruto then leapt back a couple feet and kept his eyes peeled for any tricks he might've done while simultaneously keeping Sakura in sight. Sadly the pink haired girl didn't even try to attack him or anything of the sort. Rather she ran over to Sasuke yelling 'Sasuke-kun!' at the top of her lungs and helping the Uchiha stand. Naruto rolled his eyes while Sasuke just roughly shrugged her off and stood on his own. He then pulled out a kunai and held it in reverse grip as he charged again.

Sakura by now realized that she actually needed to do something and started to think of what she actually could do. She didn't have anything special outside of the Academy three and she knew it. She was from a civilian family, meaning they couldn't teach her anything that could help her with her career choice. As she watched Sasuke rush forward and begin slashing at Naruto while also punching and kicking to attack she saw that the whiskered boy would effortlessly dodge the punches and kicks and use the silver gauntlet on his left arm to block any kunai slashes that got too close. _'Sasuke-kun can't get him if Naruto's focused just on him. I need to draw his attention somehow.'_

"Stand still!" Sasuke shouted angrily as Naruto blocked a punch and held back the kunai with his armored hand. Naruto just rolled his eyes at the Uchiha, getting him even angrier at him. _'Who the hell is this bastard? He's barely even trying to hold me back! And Sakura is still as useless as ever. I need an opening!'_ As if to answer Sasuke's silent prayers and to prove him wrong Sakura suddenly threw out a handful of shurikan at Naruto getting him to jump back. She then threw more at him to keep him occupied. The blond just whipped out a kunai and started deflecting the weaponry with precision, knocking each metal star into the ground instantly. As Sakura did, Sasuke smirked thinking this was his chance to prove his superiority. He took a deep breath as he ran through the need seals and gathered the required chakra. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)"

Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke as he launched a fireball at him. Naruto smirked and channeled chakra into his gauntlet before holding his hand out and slamming it into the oncoming fire. Naruto was pushed back a little before he channeled chakra to his feet. With a loud yell he shoved his hand further and the fireball seemed to break and fall apart. Naruto looked at the shocked faces of his opponents and smirked. "Please tell me you can do better than that?" Sasuke just stood mouth agape at how Naruto easily disabled his best juts while Sakura was staring at him like he wasn't human.

"Alright Naruto, I think that's enough testing their offense. Why don't you test their defense now?" Kakashi called out.

"Gladly." Naruto seemed to vanish before appearing before Sasuke and throwing out a punch. It was quite obvious to both of the new ninjas that he was holding back. After all, last time they didn't even see him. Sasuke did his best to move out of the way and barely managed it before Naruto kneed him in the gut. He then quickly hit Sasuke with an uppercut before vanishing and appearing by Sakura. She barely had time to turn and face him before his fist buried itself in her face and sent her flying back. She was knocked unconscious and Sasuke was breathing heavily as he tried to just sit up from where he landed on the ground. Kakashi shook his head.

"Naruto, we needed to see what they could do. You were supposed to hold back."

"I did sensei and you know I did. They're just too weak." Naruto countered. Kakashi sighed and helped Sasuke up and leaned him against one of the three logs before he sat Sakura against one. "So now what? The only thing I can say was worth while was the Uchiha knowing a Katon jutsu. And even that was pathetic; he used a C-rank jutsu like an amateur. That was hardly better than a D-rank attack." Sasuke glared at him and Kakashi sighed again.

"Naruto, they don't have any experience yet. You can't expect them to match you right off the bat."

"I'm not! I'm expecting them to match what we were like when we first started three years ago! And they can't even do that!" Naruto shouted. Kakashi turned towards him as he looked the blond over.

"They are the same as Sakuya or Koji so it's obvious they won't have the same skills." Kakashi said. Naruto just grit his teeth and was about to retort but Kakashi kept talking. "Just because you don't want to have a team again doesn't mean I can or will just get rid of them. Hokage-sama placed them under my tutelage, just like you. You need to move on Naruto. They wouldn't want to see you acting like this." Naruto flinched before glaring at the man.

"Just like you and Obito or Rin right?" He bit back darkly before vanishing in a swirl of leaves. Kakashi sighed but let him leave. Naruto had every right to bite back like he did, just like Kakashi knew he had no right to be lecturing him about moving on when he barely could himself. Sasuke was looking between Kakashi and where the blond was with a confused expression as Sakura started to stir.

"Uh… what happened?" She grumbled before looking around and seeing Sasuke and Kakashi. She noticed Naruto was gone and while slightly curious about him, she was more relieved he wasn't there to mock or belittle them anymore. She rubbed her cheek where Naruto had hit her as Kakashi knelt down in front of the two.

"Naruto beat you both quite easily and he also defended against the two of you just as easily. To be honest I read your files and already knew everything you could do. The real reason I had the two of you fight him was to see if you would work together, which you did. Slightly. That's just something we'll have to work on in time. Sakura, you were quoted as having a high intelligence and near perfect chakra control. But on the other hand your physical skills are lacking and your reserves aren't that big. Sasuke, the teachers said you have above average stamina and reserves as well as a good grasp on tactics while you would seem to soak up any and all jutsu related lessons. The downsides they gave for you were you're lack of care for your fellow classmates and your control needed just a small bit of fine-tuning. Again, these are things we'll work on together." Kakashi said as the two seemed to take in what he said. He then gave them a small smile, though the only indication was his eye seemed to turn into and upside down U. "From now on meet at this field every day at eight o'clock in the morning for missions, training, or whatever we seem to be doing that day. And welcome to the team." Kakashi then stood and was about to leave when Sasuke spoke.

"What is he?" Kakashi looked down at him for him to elaborate so Sasuke continued. "Naruto, what is he? He made everything seem so simple. He stopped my best jutsu with one hand."

"Ah, well the gauntlet may have had something to do with that." Kakashi said as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "But he is strong. He's been at this for just under three years and is the first genin Konoha has ever gotten into the Bingo Book." They both looked up in shock as they weren't expecting that. The Bingo Book was for powerful shinobi or missing nin. To be placed in it as a genin, you had to be dangerous. "He's known as the _Kurai Kitsune no Konoha_." (Konoha's Dark Fox)

* * *

><p>Naruto was on top of the Yondaime's head at the Hokage Monument looking over the village. He was sitting down with his left leg straight and his right pulled up, resting his chin on his knee. His eyes didn't seem to focus on anything, he was just staring out into space. <em>'Damn Kakashi, bringing them up. Damn Hokage-jiji putting others with us. We don't need anybody, we're the top duo not in ANBU doing S-ranks. I'm a fucking B-rank threat on my own! And Kakashi is S-rank with an approach with caution order for any non-S-rank ninja himself! What the hell do we need two newbie's for? Why couldn't Jiji grow a fucking back bone and tell the council off? He's the fucking Hokage! And yet he cowers to a bunch of pencil pushers! When I'm Hokage, I'll pull the plug on the damn council. Give me a few smart ninja that'll help out when they're needed and let the civilians deal with just following orders. This is a shinobi village not some hick town where they can expect to run everything!'<em>

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted as he sensed someone coming up behind him. He spun his head around to see who it was before turning back and staring out over the village again. "You know you can't just run here every time something bothers you Naruto."

"You shouldn't be talking considering you run to the Hero's Stone every morning sensei." Naruto shot back as Kakashi sighed and sat down next to him. Naruto didn't face him or anything considering this was actually a pretty common occurrence. Naruto, whenever he was bothered or had something on his mind, would always be found either pigging out on his favorite food or on top of his fathers' head. Kakashi could be found every morning at the Hero's Stone for at least three or four hours just staring at it. It was a habit they both tried to avoid bringing up, but if they argued, then they usually snapped at each other about them.

"You know I'm right though. Yes, I shouldn't be lecturing you about this, but you know I'm right." Kakashi offered as he just sat overlooking the village with his student. Naruto just placed his forehead on his knee.

"That doesn't make it hurt any less sensei. You can't move past yours, and I _don't want_ to move past mine. These two, I get the Uchiha and I could deal if he didn't have that 'holier-than-thou' attitude. And Haruno, fan girl. Enough said." Kakashi let out a light chuckle at that. "But it's that the council forced them on us. You weren't even given a choice, and I was forced to go along with it by association." Naruto grit his teeth slightly before sighing and closing his eyes. "But there's nothing we can do about it now. We're stuck with them and that's final." The two sat in silence for a bit before Kakashi spoke, surprising Naruto with what was said.

"It wasn't forced you know."

"Huh?"

"The team, Sasuke and Sakura. It wasn't forced on us. Hokage-sama asked me if I wanted to take a couple students to make a full squad and then explained the pros and cons of it all before asking for my decision." Naruto turned to face him as Kakashi kept talking. "After hearing the reasons, not just of him but all of the council, civilian and shinobi both, I decided to do it. The only real thing that was forced was that if I agreed, Sasuke had to be one of the two I would take. Then Hokage-sama gave me the files of all the other graduates and told me to take my pick of any of them to finish things off. I chose Sakura because with her intelligence and chakra control, I think I can get the village another genjutsu user or medic. You're a frontline fighter; strong, fast, powerful offensive jutsu, and then Kyuubi as back-up when you truly need it. Like almost all Uchiha, Sasuke has the potential to become a powerful threat on the battlefield that can be balanced in most subjects and devastating in ninjutsu. Mix the three of you together and you get a quick-response team that can work comfortably in all but stealth, tracking, or interrogation missions. The three of you can become the next generation of Sannin if you train hard enough. Just give them a chance Naruto. They may not like you now, but give them time and they will." As Kakashi finished he gave Naruto a smile before standing up and vanishing in a swirl of leaves. Naruto stared at the spot before turning back to look over the village.

"It still doesn't change the fact that I don't want new teammates."

* * *

><p>'<em>How is he so strong? Is it really just experience? And what did he do to stop my jutsu? Even Itachi would've dodged or parried with one of his own!'<em> Sasuke was scowling as he ran through the day in his mind over and over again. On one hand, he was glad. He had one of the best jonin Konoha could offer as a sensei. Under his tutelage, Sasuke knew he could gain the strength he needed to kill his brother. He was teamed with a very powerful threat. Getting into the Bingo Book was no joke. Even Itachi in all his ANBU strength didn't make it into the book until after he massacred his clan. For a genin boy to make it in earlier than his brother, that took strength. Sasuke knew that when push comes to shove, Naruto would be able to handle himself and wouldn't drag the team down in the slightest.

And then the cons flashed through his head. First off, his sensei's constant tardiness. If his new teammate was to be believed then the man was obviously lazy to a degree that a Nara could relate to. If he started spouting something along the lines of 'troublesome' he'd ask him if he was related to the shadow wielders. Then there was Naruto. The boy didn't respect him or his clan and seemed to just outright hate him and Sakura, though he wasn't entirely sure on that last part. Extreme dislike for sure though. The boy looked down on him as if Sasuke wasn't worth the dirt under his feet, and he didn't like that. He was an Uchiha! They were the elite of Konoha and nobody looked down on them. But it mattered little. Once he got stronger he'd show that commoner his place underneath him.

And finally there was Sakura. Of all the people he could've been teamed with, it had to be a fan girl. No, it had to be the BIGGEST fan girl. All he knew was that if she didn't start training seriously and drop the constant screeching for him, Sasuke would look the other way when Naruto made good on his threat to kill her. She was useless, with Kakashi pointing out her only good points; chakra control and being a walking dictionary. Btu control meant nothing without the other skills and jutsu to use it for. And you could be as smart as you wanted; again it was useless without the skills. And her attitude and voice being annoying as all hell was not making him like her like she wanted. Rather it was doing quite the opposite.

Sasuke let out a sigh as he thought about his team_. 'Might as well get used to them. I'll show up the commoner eventually and Sakura will either shape up or get left behind. But it doesn't matter either way, so long as she doesn't slow me down. Killing Itachi is all that matters.' _Sasuke thought as he walked into his clan compound. His eyes glanced over the empty streets and buildings as a few images of that night flashed through his mind._ 'Soon Itachi. Soon I'll be strong enough to avenge them. Soon you will be dead!'_

* * *

><p>"I'm home!" Sakura called out as she took of her sandals and entered the house. She heard her mother reply from the kitchen and went over there before sitting down at the table and giving a small smile.<p>

"So how did things go today?" Masaki asked. She already knew what team she was on due to the council meeting but she wanted to hear her daughter's perspective before she said anything herself. Sakura sighed but then smiled a bit more.

"It was alright. I got placed with Sasuke-kun and then we were put with some kid who's been a genin for a couple years already and his sensei. According to the kid, our sensei is really strong but kind of lazy while the kid himself is strong but a jerk. He actually hurt Sasuke-kun and me in a spar and acted like Sasuke-kun was worthless! I would've told him off but he kinda scared me." Sakura admitted with a small shudder as she thought about the cold look and words Naruto had sent towards her. Masaki scowled at the thought of Naruto hurting her daughter and the Uchiha.

"Sakura, that de-_boy_" She spat out remembering the Hokage's order. "Is dangerous. I know who he is, like a lot of the village does so trust me when I say this. Stay away from him as much as you can get away with. He won't hesitate to harm you or Uchiha-sama if he wants to. Just listen to your sensei and stay out of that boy's way. He's nothing but trouble." She ordered before giving her daughter a hug and then returning to making dinner. "Besides, you were placed with Uchiha-sama. You need to try extra hard to get his affections now." Sakura sighed at that.

"That's gonna be hard mom." When her mother questioned why Sakura started to explain. "Our other teammate, Naruto, he did this trick where he could tell what we were thinking by reading our faces. When he read Sasuke-kun he said that he thinks I'm weak and will only hold him back. Sasuke-kun confirmed it when he looked shocked at how accurate Naruto was. And then he read me like an open book right after." Sakura looked depressed and Masaki was wanting to kill 'the demon' more and more with each passing second but then sighed.

"Well if Uchiha-sama thinks your weak then you'll just have to train and get strong enough to impress him." Sakura looked up as her mother kept cooking. "I think it's time for a different approach. You've been trying to earn his affections through praise and looks for a few years now and it hasn't worked. So why not try through your actions? Show him your strong enough for him, show him that you won't get in the way but will be a major help to him. Then he'll have to take notice of you. It'll also get that boy to shut up." Sakura thought it over before shrugging her shoulders.

"I guess it's worth a shot."

* * *

><p>"So how did he take to them?"<p>

"A little worse than expected. He shows just short of open hatred and hostility towards them. During a small spar I asked him to test his teammate's defensive skills and he knocked Sakura out in a single hard punch to her jaw and slammed Sasuke down with more force than necessary. Then when I tried to get him to calm down from it, he snaps at me. Afterwards I spoke with him in private atop his father's head and he pretty much flat out told me he doesn't want to move past his old team." Kakashi explained. He was alone with Sarutobi in his office and they were speaking about how Naruto and his new team interacted. "Naruto was also under the impression that this was forced and that I didn't have a choice. After I explained otherwise he said he could handle Sasuke if not for his attitude and in his own words; 'Haruno? Fan girl, enough said.' If she doesn't shape up quick then he might be overly aggressive towards her. Especially since he finds fan girls to be disgraces to Kunoichi and because Sakuya hated them herself." As he finished Sarutobi sighed and took a small drag from his pipe.

"Do you think he can work with them? Or is his animosity going to disrupt things?"

"Oh Naruto knows how to put aside personal issues on a mission. I'd be more worried of him… 'accidentally' killing them in a spar. Especially if they don't improve their attitudes to his expectations soon." Kakashi spoke with clear utter confidence that he was sure Naruto may actually do such. Which was really not a good thing.

"Keep an eye on him and try to make them get along with each other. I know it'll be hard but you were right when you said they have the potential to become the next Sannin. All that's going to hold them back is their teamwork. Give me weekly reports and that will be all." After a 'Hai Hokage-sama.' Kakashi vanished and Sarutobi looked back at the picture of the Yondaime. _'Oh Minato, if only you could see what's happened to your son. You'd be so proud and disappointed in him, and angry with me for allowing it all to happen.'_

* * *

><p><strong>OMAKE – You Graduate!<strong>

An eight year old, soon to be nine, Naruto was smiling as he stood in front of his sensei Iruka. He wore a large orange jumpsuit with bits of blue on it and a red swirl on the back. Iruka gave a small sigh as he smiled at the child in front of him. Naruto was trying to graduate early, which was normal for a lot of kids actually. The Academy allowed anybody from the age of five to nine to enroll for a four year course. Once you received a parent or guardians permission, you were cleared to attempt the graduation exam early. Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi both gaining parental permission and finishing before the four years were up, being the primary examples of the practice. Orphans however, didn't need parental permission since they didn't have anybody to look after them. But to make sure they didn't just try to graduate as soon as they got into the building, orphans were required to go to the Academy at least two years. Naruto had just finished his second year and wanted to try and graduate now rather than come back for a third and possibly fourth year. Anybody who wanted to try and graduate early had to come on the day after the normal graduating class took their tests. This way they wouldn't bother anybody and they could accurately add in any possible early ninja into the class roster and team set ups.

"So what do I gotta do to pass Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked as he was having trouble keeping himself from bouncing in place. Iruka chuckled at his enthusiasm and set a sheet of paper in front of him. Naruto looked down and instantly frowned at the written test.

"First, you have to get a passable score on this test Naruto. Then there are two more steps that I'll lead you through. So I'll give you an hour to do that and then we'll move on. So start." Iruka explained as Naruto grabbed a pencil and started writing. An hour later and Iruka told him to stop and took the paper. He did a quick grading of it that took him only ten minutes before saying that he scored just above the bare minimum allowed. Naruto smiled and Iruka then led him outside. "Okay Naruto, now you'll have to run an obstacle course. Then after a small two minute break, you'll have to accurately throw the kunai and shurikan I provide to hit all the targets you can. And finally, a small spar against me where you have to either last a certain amount of time, or actually defeat me."

"Okay. I'll blaze right through all of this!" Naruto declared as he took his point at the starting line. Iruka picked up a stop watch and waited a moment to check if Naruto was ready before shouting 'GO!' as the blonde ball of energy ran at top speed. Naruto ducked under the obstacles, swung over the pits and balanced as best he could while keeping his top speed. Finally he reached the finish and bent over with his hands on his knees. That course was hard. "So how'd I do?"

"Just under four minutes Naruto. Not bad, you need to make it fewer than five and you beat that by a whole minute. Some of the current gradates couldn't even do that." Iruka said, honestly impressed. He did better than the bottom half of kids two or three years older than him. "Okay not take a couple minutes before coming over here for the target test." Naruto just dropped down and took a few deep breaths before he got up and walked over to Iruka. The man handed him ten shurikan and kunai and then pointed out the targets. "You have a minute to get as many bulls-eyes as you can with the shurikan and then another minute to do the same with the kunai. Afterwards, I'll tally up your score and let you know if you pass this part." Naruto nodded his understanding and got ready with the bladed stars as Iruka took a couple steps back. At his signal Naruto started whipping the weaponry down the range hitting targets. A minute later and Iruka told him to stop and now use the kunai. The blond obeyed and soon was throwing the knives just like he had with the stars.

"So did I pass this?" Naruto asked as Iruka walked out and marked up the points Naruto earned in throwing weapons. Iruka came back with a very slight smile.

"You barely earned enough points Naruto. Had that last shurikan been off by another inch you would've failed this part of the test." Naruto looked down for a moment before he got a smirk on his face.

"But I passed it, so it doesn't really matter! Now was the spar right?" At Iruka's nod he grinned even more. "I'm not gonna go easy on you sensei!" Iruka chuckled and led him to a small ring. He then explained the rules. Naruto had to stay in the ring for at least three minutes or knock Iruka down. Only Taijutsu, no weapons or other tricks. Just pure hand-to-hand combat between himself and his sensei. Naruto nodded and then Iruka said 'Hajime!' Naruto took off as fast as he could trying to knock Iruka flat on his face. The chunin fought back and it was pretty easy to keep Naruto _back_, it was just more along impossible to keep Naruto _down_. The boy got back up from every hit, grinned and tried to knock his teacher down another way. Three minutes later and Iruka called him to stop. He lasted the full time so he passed. Now there was only one more thing.

"Okay Naruto, this is the last test. Pas this and you're officially a graduate of the Academy." Pausing for Naruto's shout of excitement, Iruka then continued. "Perform the Academy's three jutsu; Henge, Kawarimi, and the Bunshin." Naruto nodded before making a seal and turning into an exact duplicate of the Hokage, pipe and all. Iruka passed it and said next. Naruto dispelled the transformation and then made another seal; this time vanishing with a log taking his place. He then walked up behind Iruka with a smile. "Good job Naruto. Now make at least three Bunshin and you graduate." Naruto nodded and started channeling chakra. This was it, the final thing he needed to pass and become a ninja. After channeling what he felt was the appropriate amount of chakra he released it to activate the jutsu.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Clone Technique) There was a large puff of smoke and then standing in front of Iruka were twenty Naruto's. Iruka looked slightly shocked and then looked at the real one as he had him dispel the rest.

"Naruto I said three."

"Nu-uh! You said at least three! That's as few as I can make without them turning out dead and stuff!" The boy shot back. Iruka went wide eyed before realizing he was right. And he couldn't take it back or punish him for it since Naruto had followed his orders and made at least three. He shook his head before smiling.

"Well then I guess all I can say is congratulations Naruto. You graduate." That night was easily one of the best Naruto ever had. Completely unaware of how much his graduating early would change the set course of actions.

* * *

><p>So the Omake showed the point in the canon story that I changed. One little change, in that Naruto passed on his first attempt rather than the failing. The story gave some clues towards Naruto's differed past and power as well as showing how everyone thinks and what's going to happen. And for those who're wondering what level Naruto is technically at; imagine Shippuden Naruto before he made the Rasenshurikan. That's where Naruto is strength wise right now.<p>

Please review and favorite!


	3. 03

**RedEye00 –** He's only showing hostility towards them because he's being forced to accept them as teammates. If they were to have met under different circumstances, he would've called Sasuke a jerk and Sakura an insult to kunoichi but otherwise wouldn't have cared or interacted with them. But since he's stuck with them, he's going to take his extra aggression out on them when he gets the chance.

And as for Hinata, she will be a little different but when she and Naruto finally meet, things will fall into place for all of you readers.

**ICHA-ICHA 1 FAN –** Shush! Don't give away future chapters!

Oh…

Wait…

Oh well, not like that was a really big secret anyways.

**Chewie Cookies –** For shuriken, thanks for pointing that out. As for _Kurai_; according to freedict - com/onldict/jap - html (- means .) Dark can be written out as _Kuro_ or _Kurai._ And the site is nothing but a big translation site so I trust it. Besides, in my opinion _Kurai Kitsune_ sounds better than _Kuro Kitsune_.

And a lot of people are wondering about his team-mates, his Iwa hatred, and if they're connected somehow. I will not say anything specific but by the time of the Chunin Exams, both will be answered. Until then, you all have to just wait and see.

* * *

><p><strong>03 –<strong> The Heir of Uzushio

"Is everybody in position?" The voice asked over the headsets.

"Hai." A girl answered.

"Hai." A boy answered.

"Why the fuck am I stuck on D-ranks again sensei?" An annoyed voice answered. There was a loud sigh and they could almost swear he had just face palmed himself.

"Because Sasuke and Sakura aren't ready for the higher levels yet. Now are you in position Naruto?" Their sensei responded. A quick 'Hai sensei' was his response before the man looked up at the sky. "Alright then. GO!" There was some rustling of the bushes and trees before a small blur ran out and tried to escape a young boy wearing blue and white. Just before it got far it had to quickly change directions as a girl with pink hair shot out to grab it. It kept running, hoping to escape its pursuers, when a kunai swung around it and caught its legs in some string. The string tightened and suddenly it found its legs tied up. The pink haired girl sighed and picked the animal up, revealing it to be a small cat with a ribbon in its ear. "Can you confirm the ribbon?"

"Sensei, I fucking chased this cat down at least fifty times with my old team. I think I'd recognize the damn thing after getting my face clawed off so much!" A blonde boy shouted as the girl started petting it and calming it down. The other boy sighed but answered the question.

"Hai sensei."

"Good, then missing cat Tora, captured."

* * *

><p>"Oh thank you for catching my little darling." A large woman shouted as she hugged the captured cat, damn near close to death. Is it any wonder why it ran away? She paid the Hokage before leaving which left Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi standing before Iruka, said Hokage, and another Chunin.<p>

"Well done team. Now if you would like another mission we have helping the Inuzuka clean out their kennels or painting the fence down on old Jiro's new house." Sarutobi offered as Kakashi closed his book. Naruto was scowling with his arms crossed due to being forced into D-ranks once more. For the past year Kakashi and Naruto had been doing nothing but C-ranks on their own or B and the occasional A-rank with other teams. Getting dragged back into the shinobi hell of menial labor pissed him off.

Sasuke was also scowling due to the D-ranks. He felt he was better than common chores or civilian work. Plus his Uchiha pride was telling him these 'missions' were insulting to someone of his stature. That and he wanted something challenging. Surprisingly Sakura was perfectly fine with D-ranks. They weren't dangerous and she got to spend time with Sasuke. A 'win-win' in her pink haired head.

"Actually Hokage-sama, do you have an easy C-rank we could do?" Kakashi asked. Naruto grinned, hoping to finally get back to better things. Sasuke smirked, thinking he'd be able to prove his skills better. And Sakura seemed impassive; Kakashi said an easy one so she felt she'd still be safe.

Iruka looked over Sasuke and Sakura and seeing their attitudes about his request, chose not to say anything. Sasuke was a fast learner and Sakura was the smartest girl of their class. So if Kakashi felt they were ready then he'd let it go. Besides, he knew Naruto's strength so if anything went wrong he and Kakashi could handle it. The Hokage, having come to similar conclusions looked down at the list of available C-ranks.

"Ah, here's one for you. You are to escort a man to his home in Nami no Kuni and protect him as he finishes his project. Send in the client!" Sarutobi called out. The door opened and a man wearing mostly brown and tan clothes walked in. He had a bottle of sake in his hand and a blush on his face showing he was clearly drunk. He looked over the team before taking a swig of his sake.

"This is it? A group of little brats to protect me? They don't look like much, especially the blond one." He muttered before taking another drink. Or trying. He looked down to see there wasn't a bottle in his hands anymore. He looked at the team to see Naruto holding his bottle with a smirk on his face. He took a swig before tossing the bottle back.

"Not bad sake Ji-san. Got any more?" The old man looked between where he was and the blonde before smirking. Sasuke and Sakura were staring at Naruto in shock as they hadn't even seen him move. Kakashi and Sarutobi just sighed at the blonde's actions. Since the three weeks of being a team, Naruto had taken every opportunity to show how superior he was to Sasuke and Sakura. He did so for a couple reasons, one was to hopefully get them to quit or ask for a team transfer once they understood how weak they were. And the other was to get them to train harder to try and catch up. Sasuke seemed to take the hint and had trained harder. Sakura on the other hand, well she trained harder than she used to but she was still more concerned about looks and Sasuke than her own life it seemed. In spars he would beat them down in seconds as brutally as he could get away with. And in everything else he would mock them and belittle any accomplishment they got. He hated being with them and was determined to either get rid of them or whip them into shape.

"I like you kid. Anyways, I'm the great bridge builder Tazuna. I expect top class protection on this trip." Kakashi just looked down on his students.

"Okay you three, meet at the main gate in an hour. Pack some supplies for I'd say a week or two." He then vanished in a puff of smoke. Sasuke and Sakura left out the door to do just that while Naruto just gave a slight nod to Sarutobi before vanishing in his own Shunshin. Tazuna looked back at his bottle wondering if he was seeing things before shrugging his shoulders and heading towards the inn where he left his stuff.

* * *

><p>"So where's your sensei kid?" Tazuna asked as he and Naruto stood by the main gate. Naruto and the old drunk were just standing there waiting for Kakashi as Sasuke and Sakura were standing off to the side. Sasuke was thinking about what might happen on the mission while Sakura was trying to talk to Sasuke about how 'romantic' the trip could be. Needless to say Naruto was barely holding himself back from throwing a kunai into her head. He could see that Sasuke seemed to be silently praying he would do just that as well. 'Tempting, but I can't. I can scare her though.' He thought before turning back to Tazuna.<p>

"Oh he'll be here soon." He then made a hand sign and three clones popped into existence right next to him. "Go get sensei at the Hero's Stone and tell him we've got to go. Drag his ass here if you have to." The clones nodded and vanished in swirls of leaves. Naruto then rolled his eyes and grabbed a kunai before tossing it at Sakura, giving her a slight cut on the cheek. "Haruno shut the hell up! He's not talking and you're just pissing both of us off!" Sakura held her hand up to her cheek and quickly glared at him as he just glared back. "Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong. Neither of you have a good enough poker face to hide shit from me yet. And I swear to Kami, if you try something I will shove my foot up your ass." She scowled before turning away and giving a glance at Sasuke to see he hadn't changed facial expressions once during Naruto's shouting episode. She sighed but stayed silent as she took out a small bandage and covered her cheek.

"I take it you don't like her?"

"Or him either." Naruto muttered but stayed silent showing he wasn't wanting to talk about it. Tazuna just shrugged and went back to his sake as they waited for Naruto's clones to bring their sensei along. Which was a surprisingly short wait as they all dropped him in front of the original five minutes later with his hands tied behind his back. They then dispelled, giving Naruto the memories on how they captured him and he shook his head as he untied the jonin. "Seriously sensei, you need to pay more attention when you're at the Stone. That was way too easy for three to get you. Normally that would've taken at least ten." The silver haired jonin chuckled sheepishly before checking over the three of them and leading them out.

* * *

><p>"So, Nami no Kuni huh?" Naruto asked as they were all walking down the road. Tazuna was standing between all three genin, with Naruto at point, Sakura to his right and Sasuke to his left. Kakashi was a few feet behind them reading his book. When Tazuna answered in the affirmative Naruto raised his voice. "Hey sensei; would it be okay if I go visit after the mission but before we come back?" Sakura and Sasuke got confused looks as Kakashi looked up from his book as he thought about it.<p>

"I don't see why not. If there's no danger and we finish ahead of schedule then sure." He then went back to his book as Naruto was now staring ahead with what looked like a blank stare. But even Sakura could tell he was thinking about something.

"Visit where?" She asked. Naruto opened his eyes a bit as he hadn't expected her to care. But then his expression softened a bit and he guessed he might as well answer.

"My ancestral home. Uzushiogakure."

"Wait, you're not even from Konoha?" Sasuke asked. Naruto chuckled and shook his head.

"No, I'm from Konoha. But my mother wasn't, and neither was my clan." Deciding to explain he took a deep breath. "My clan was the ruling clan of Uzushiogakure of Uzu no Kuni. They were exceptional fighters specializing in fuuinjutsu. And to a lesser extent, kenjutsu. They were one of the first hidden villages formed, before Konoha even. In fact after forming and seeing how they seemed to be doing well, the Uchiha and Senju clans which had been trying to come to peace with each other for years decided they would join together and form their own shinobi village. They contacted the Uzumaki clan and asked for them to be the mediator to their peace talks and help them establish a village here in Hi no Kuni. Which my clan agreed to. Eventually they got the attention of Hi no Kuni's daimyo and the daimyo agreed to provide funds and recognize them as a separate military force so long as the village agreed to serve and protect the interests of the country. The result was the birth of Konohagakure no Sato. To thank the Uzumaki and Uzushiogakure, Konoha became allies with them. The red swirl on my back, and on the clothes of so many other ninja back home, that's my clan symbol. Worn proudly as a sign of honor and respect to the clan that helped the Uchiha and Senju found the village."

"I always wondered what that mark was. I thought it was just something they older generation wore cause they had to, like their headbands." Sakura stated as she looked at the swirl on his back. Naruto shook his head.

"No, cause otherwise it would be mandatory like them. It's not though and some people don't wear it. Most have forgotten what it means, since this was so long ago. To further cement our alliance though, the Uzumaki clan head married off his daughter to the one chosen to be the Shodai Hokage. In a way, I'm related to the first to Kage's of our village." Naruto said with a grin. Sasuke stared in shock.

"You're kidding! You're related to the Shodai?"

"Kinda. Uzumaki Mito was the woman he married. And she's sort of like my great aunt or something. I'm not a direct relation, but more like I'm cousins with the Senju clan." Sasuke and Sakura seemed to be quiet as they digested all the information before Sakura noticed something.

"Wait, so after the mission you want to go visit you're clans' homeland? But we're going to Nami, not Uzu. You'd be going to a whole other country!"

"No I wouldn't, because Uzu doesn't exist anymore. Neither does Uzushiogakure either now that I think about it." He said as he hung his head down.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked. Sakura seemed to be eager to learn as well as Naruto sighed.

"I mean I'm like you Uchiha. I'm the last of my clan as well." This got both of them to recoil slightly as they didn't expect that. "My clan and village was strong. They were a minor village, but they were as strong as one of the five greats. And said greats didn't exactly like that. Iwa and a few minor villages allied with it decided to 'put the Uzu nin in their place' as it were. They launched an attack that pretty much wiped them off the map. It wasn't a battle, but a slaughter. A massacre. Not one person in the village survived." This got Sasuke to grit his teeth and look down. Any mention of massacre's got to him since his clan went through one. "It was this that started the Third Ninja War actually. Konoha was outraged one of our closest allies was destroyed so we retaliated." Both could tell that this had to be part of the reason he hated Iwa. After all they destroyed his entire clan and their village. You can't just forgive something like that.

"If nobody survived, then how were you born? I mean you said you were born in Konoha, but your clan was wiped out long before you were born." Sakura asked. Naruto chuckled slightly.

"About ten to fifteen years before the destruction and war, Konoha needed something. They needed someone with a special kind of chakra for a special task. They searched the village but didn't find one that fit the bill. So they had people search their allies to see if they did. Turns out, Uzushio had someone exactly like they were looking for. My mother was discovered to have the special chakra Konoha needed. After some deals and negotiations she was brought to Konoha and enrolled in our ninja forces." Naruto explained. "When the war broke out, she was usually leading the charge on battlefields in vengeance for our clan. Uzumaki Kushina, the _Aka Takai no Konoha_ (Konoha's Red Death), the only ninja with a body count higher than her was the Yondaime. With her home village gone and being the last of the clan, she decided to restart the Uzumaki in Konoha. Sadly, she died the day I was born." He muttered with clenched fists and closed eyes as he thought about something. What neither of the genin knew. Kakashi sighed behind his book as he listened into the conversation. He was opening up to his teammates which was good, but still had that problem of letting go of the past. Not that he was much better, which he freely would admit.

"Wait, you said you wouldn't be going to another country. You never explained that." Sakura pointed out. Naruto was about to talk but Tazuna surprisingly answered that.

"That's cause Nami is Uzu." He said before taking a drink. Seeing Sakura and Sasuke looking at him in shock he continued. "After the war our people wanted to forget the humiliation of our total defeat and wanted to start fresh. So the country changed its name from Uzu no Kuni to Nami no Kuni and we never again tried to make a ninja village. We kept our close ties to Konoha and Hi no Kuni though. We just wiped our hands clean of our own shameful history." Tazuna finished and Sakura and Sasuke nodded as things seemed to make sense as Naruto was quietly growling at how Tazuna referred to their slaughter as shameful. To him it wasn't shameful because though they lost, Iwa was damn near crippled from the fight and if not for their allies, Konoha would've swept through them instantly. But as it was, they couldn't until the Yondaime came in with his _Hirashin no Jutsu_ (Flying Thunder Go Technique). That was far from shameful.

"Alright, that's enough of the depressing talk for now." Kakashi interrupted. The genin looked at him but then at Naruto ho had his hands balled into fists and noticed they were shaking. Both Sasuke and Sakura could tell the talk was starting to anger him and seeing as he could not relax himself as he normally would (by eating ramen or visiting the Hokage Monument) they decided to drop it. Tazuna just shrugged and started drinking his sake again.

* * *

><p>The trip was silent and peaceful after Kakashi told them to drop it. At least until they noticed a puddle in the middle of the road. Naruto and Kakashi stiffened slightly but otherwise made no motion to do anything. Sasuke and Sakura didn't notice anything strange and Tazuna just kept drinking. They manage to get a few feet from the puddle when it actually happened. Two figures in torn black cloaks jumped out of the water and wrapped Kakashi up in chains before pulling and tearing the jonin to pieces. Sakura screamed in shock, Tazuna was scared into being sober, and Sasuke's face flashed through shock, fear and then settled on anger. "One down…" One started.<p>

"Three to go." The other finished before they charged forward at Sakura, correctly assuming she was the weakest of the group. Sasuke sprang into action and tossed a shuriken that pinned the chain to a tree before locking it in place with a kunai. As the two dealt with being jerked back he landed on the clawed gauntlets the two had and then kicked them both to the face simultaneously. They shook the pain out of their heads as Sasuke landed before they disabled the chain and charged again. One headed to fight Sasuke while the other headed at Sakura again. Sasuke whipped out a kunai to his hand and started to block the claws of the Kiri nin and try to find an opening while Sakura was still staring in shock and fear. Just as the ninja came close and was about to take her face off with a clawed hand to the face He was suddenly thrown back hard enough that he collided with the other and both crashed into a tree.

"Pathetic Haruno. At least the Uchiha fought back. Why are you a ninja again?" Naruto taunted as he stood in front of her with his leg outstretched as if he had just kicked something, which technically he had. "If you're scared senseless by such a small thing then you need to quit. You're just dragging us down even more than I thought. Now let me show you how a real ninja handles things." He said as he lowered his leg. The moment he did he vanished into thin air and four Narutos' appeared and rushed the two missing nins as they were standing. The clones split up to take them on two-to-one each. One was pounded between the two like a ball from a barrage of rapid kicks and punches while the other was thrown to the ground before getting tossed up and slammed down again. Not even a minute later and both were wrapped up with ninja wire and tied up back to back. It was then that the clones vanished and Naruto was standing there without even looking winded.

"How?" One mumbled out as he tried to stay awake. The other was silent but that was more because his jaw was broken. Naruto knelt down and turned their heads to face him. "Who the hell are you?"

"The Kurai Kitsune." Was the blonds' response. Both paled dramatically as they looked at him in horror. Sasuke was torn between anger at his fight being taken away, shock and fear at how simple Naruto had beaten them, and curiosity at why they were paling so much at his title. Other than being the only genin in the Bingo Book under that title, Kakashi hadn't told them anything else about it. And they didn't have a Bingo Book to check and see what he did to get in it. "Now you two are going to tell me why you attacked us, who you're working for, and why you should live." Naruto ordered in a no-nonsense tone. Both nodded and the one that could still talk explained everything. From being hired by Gato to kill the bridge builder to also working with Mamochi Zabuza in planning the small attack. They had no doubt Zabuza would shortly learn of their failure and would come himself next time. They also pleaded to be allowed to live. Naruto just stood with a blank face and they thought they were going to die before he lashed out with a kick that knock both unconscious.

"Well that's a little frightening. The Demon of the Mist huh?" Kakashi muttered as he seemingly appeared next to Tazuna without a mark on him. Said old man and Sakura both jumped into the air with a shout as they hadn't heard or felt him come up. They all then looked to his 'corpse' to see a pile of shredded wood, no doubt from a log he had replaced himself with. Kakashi continued as if he didn't just drive two nearly into premature heart-attacks. "Naruto, you know those two are the Demon Brothers right? Chunin level missing nin from Kiri. And Zabuza is an A rank jonin that was formerly part of the _Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu_, right? (Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist) I don't think Sasuke and Sakura are ready for this." Naruto sighed as Kakashi had a point.

"I know. We should go back. I may hate these two but I don't want them killed. Sorry Ji-san, but we're going back to Konoha." Naruto said as he made a clone to carry the demon brothers. Sasuke scowled at missing his chance to actually fight while Sakura seemed relieved. Tazuna on the other hand, looked more terrified than when the ninja was charging at him and the pinkette.

"You can't! If you do then I'll die!" He shouted. Kakashi sighed.

"You paid for C-ranked protection. This is not C-ranked protection. Unless you can pay for at least a B-rank, then we're going back. I'm not going to risk my students dying when I know the danger that's coming." Tazuna flinched but then looked down.

"I see. And I'd like to pay you what you deserve, but I can't. Gato has our country in a chokehold. We're a fishing and merchant nation and he has gained control of all the docks. Thanks to taxes he's placed on everything, we could only scrounge up enough for a C-rank." Tazuna then raised his head and looked at all of them. "Nami is dying off! Gato's thugs run around doing whatever they want because he lets them. We can't fight back because then he kills us. The bridge I'm building is the one and only hope for our country. With it complete, our nation would no longer be forced to use the docks that he controls and our land would be freed. He knows it too, which is why he wants me dead."

"Be that as it may, you still didn't pay so I'm sorry but we can-"

"We'll do it." Kakashi whipped his head around to see Naruto staring right back at him with a fierce determination in his eyes. Seeing the silent question Naruto kept talking. "Nami is dying sensei. We can always set up an interest plan to get the country to pay us back later for lying to us. But I'm going to help them. Besides, what would my clan think if I knew our homeland was suffering and I turned a blind eye?" Kakashi sighed.

"I'm with him." Sasuke spoke up, getting the attention of the rest. "I was doing fine against that chunin so I think between your skill and his, we'll be fine. Besides, isn't Konoha known for helping stop suffering wherever we go?" He asked with a smirk. He didn't care about the country in the slightest really. That was just a side bonus. He wanted to test himself against a ninja of higher caliber. A jonin listed as an A-rank threat that was once part of the seven strongest swordsmen in the world was definitely a higher challenge. Kakashi sighed again and looked over at Sakura to see her opinion on the matter. She looked from the confident look on her teammates face to the pleading look on Tazuna's before nodding herself.

"Fine then. Tazuna, it looks like you still have us for this mission."

* * *

><p><strong>OMAKE –<strong> Chibi!

A young Naruto was walking back to the Academy with a large grin. He had passed and graduated early. Now he was going to meet the current graduates and be sorted into teams with them. He couldn't wait. As he opened the door he saw that the class was full of students a couple years older than him all talking or whispering with the ones nearby. Nobody noticed him until he closed the door and walked inside. Which is when someone actually spoke to him. "Hey kid, you lost or something? This is for the graduates not students." Naruto looked at the kid to see a boy with messy brown hair that was spiked up. He had black eyes and on his cheeks were red triangle signifying the child was an Inuzuka. He wore a long sleeve black shirt that hugged his form, showing his developing muscles. He also had on over that a light brown coat with a red fur around the hood which was down at the moment. The kid was standing which let Naruto see he also had on black shinobi pants. Sitting on the desk next to him was a small brown dog with black ears, also staring at him like the boy. In fact, since the boy had called out to Naruto, the whole class was now staring at him.

"Uh, I graduated." He answered timidly before shaking his head and then grinning as he pointed to his headband which was tied around his head. "See? I graduated early and I'm one step closer to being Hokage!" He shouted. The kid grinned and nodded his head.

"Well not bad. Been a while since someone graduated early. I guess we got another genius this generation." He said as he sat down. He then motioned to the seat next to him that was open and Naruto just grinned and took it while the rest of the class went back to whatever they were talking about before. As soon as Naruto sat down the kid offered his hand. "Name's Inuzuka Koji. This pup here is my partner Kairi." Said dog gave a small bark but otherwise stayed sitting. Naruto shook his hand with a grin.

"My Name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm gonna be Hokage!"

"Hokage huh? Well graduating early is a nice jumpstart to that Chibi." Koji replied. Naruto just huffed about his new nick-name.

"I'm not a chibi!"

"Sure you are. You're young, short, and I bet over half the girls here would call you cute. In fact, that might be nice. May get some of them to stop bugging me." He muttered as Naruto held a hand out towards the little pup. Kairi sniffed his hand before giving him a little lick and Naruto started to pet the animal. "Heh, guess Kairi likes you a bit." Naruto grinned before he put on a thoughtful expression with his eyes squinted, strongly reminding Koji of a fox.

"Uh, why would the girls bother you?" Koji scoffed but otherwise didn't lose his cheerful look.

"Cause I'm from a big clan and I'm the Rookie of the Year. Or at least I should be. How good were you on the test?" He asked as he genuinely became curious about how good the young blond was.

"Iruka-sensei said I barely passed. But I still passed so it doesn't matter!" He exclaimed. Koji chuckled at how energetic the boy seemed to be before nodding his head.

"True." He agreed before the door opened again and a tall man came in. He was bald and had red eyes. He also wore the standard chunin outfit and looked over the class, which got silent as he entered. The man looked over the class with a smile until his eyes fell on Naruto. He then looked confused.

"Mind telling me why you're here kid?"

"I passed the graduation test early." The man closed his eyes and nodded his understanding. He knew exactly who he was and was genuinely surprised the 'Kyuubi kid' was good enough to pass early. He also had no ill will towards the child. In his mind it was more along the lines of indifference. He didn't care if Naruto lived or died; so long as Kyuubi didn't get out he could care less. He pulled out a clipboard and noticed the revised teams, a couple small revisions from placing Naruto into the class as a graduate.

"Alright, well good for you. Now to all of the students I taught; congratulations on passing. I spent the last four years whipping you into shape and now you get to head out to the world and show just what a great teacher I am." He declared getting a few laughs from the kids. "But seriously though, do your village and families proud. Protect your teammates, train your hardest, and always work towards your dreams. From today forth all of you are shinobi of Konoha! Do those headbands proud and live with honor! For that is the 'Will of Fire'!" He concluded which got all the students to be staring at him with determination and happiness in their eyes. He could just tell this group would go far. "Now, as for your teams. Team One will be…" And everybody pretty much tuned him out except for their own name.

"Team Five will be Uzumaki Naruto," Said blond whipped his head up as he looked at the chunin. "Inuzuka Koji," The boy's head went up with a smirk towards the shorty next to him. "And Sakuya." A girl towards the back of the class smiled and nodded, apparently pleased with her placement. Many of the other girls started whining about not being with their Koji-kun though. Seeing as he no longer had to worry about possibly offending a future teammate, Koji stood up and spun around to face all the girls.

"WILL ALL OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP? I've been holding this back for four damn years! Your constant squealing and screeching has just been hurting my ears damn it! Shut the hell up and actually try being ninja for once!" He then sighed and sat back down with a quick apology to his sensei for interrupting him. Said man just smirked and shook his head as the girls that were fawning over him were now whining about how heartless their crush was.

"Think nothing of it Koji, it needed to be said. Anyways, your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi. Team Six…"


	4. 04

**Demonkid:** That's the thing I never really got. Kakashi was listed as A rank yet other than Akatsuki he pretty much kicked everybody's ass. Zabuza could only hold him off because the copy nin relied on his eye a bit too much. But as shown in their fight in the war, Kakashi could easily handle Zabuza. So I bumped up his rank here in my fic.

**Dreaded Rasengan:** Okay, Kumo tried to kidnap her when she was three. What was the second time? And if you say a fillar arc then it's bullshit since fillars aren't canon. As for Naruto's feelings towards Kumo, that'll be revealed later. Much later actually, like after the exams later.

**Almech Alfarion:** Kiba doesn't introduce them but he does play a role towards Naruto. Just wait until they meet at the exams.

**raw666:** Naruto isn't a chunin yet for a couple reasons. Yes he has the power to take the rank. In fact he has enough power some would say he could take jonin if he wanted too. But he doesn't have the mindset or leadership qualities that they look for in chunin. Hence, he hasn't been able to gain a promotion since he hasn't blown away judges at the Chunin Exams.

**Cokie the Clown:** As I said in the review responses in chapter 2, this story will be following canon closer than any of my other stories ever will. In fact, only two other stories of mine will even do the Wave Arc and it'll be pretty different how they're done. But this one, will be closer to canon. And as for his old teammates, no they won't be like Sasuke and Sakura.

* * *

><p><strong>04-<strong> Don't Lose Your Head

Everybody was silent as they sat in a small boat being rowed through the morning mist. Naruto was sitting at the front of the boat while Kakashi was talking with Tazuna over their arrangements for staying and helping out when they should've gone home. Sasuke was eager to prove himself and smirked as he stared ahead into the thick mist. Sakura was just doing her best to avoid shivering at the thought of what they were up against. Eventually the boat landed and they all got off. The boatman wished them good luck before heading back, not wanting to get caught in what they expected to happen. "Eye's open everyone. If we're to be attacked again then now before we reach Tazuna's home would be their best bet." Kakashi ordered as they walked. Naruto took point in front of Tazuna while Kakashi was behind him and Sasuke and Sakura were to his left and right respectively.

As they were walking Naruto twitched and spun to the left and Sasuke also whipped out a kunai and tossed it into some bushes to the groups left side. There was a dull thud as the metal dug into flesh and Naruto walked over and held up a now dead rabbit. Sasuke sighed thinking his nerves were getting to him, as Sakura and Tazuna also let out breaths they didn't know they were holding. Naruto and Kakashi however scowled at the creature. "Correct me if I'm wrong sensei, but aren't rabbits supposed to be brown this time of year?"

"Yeah, they are. Which means- GET DOWN NOW!" Kakashi shouted as a large sword came spinning through above their heads and lodged itself into a tree behind them. They all got up and spun to face the blade as a man seemingly appeared on the blades' handle. He had spiky brown hair and his lower face was wrapped in bandages while he was shirtless with blue pants and blue camouflage styled arm warmers. He stared down at them impassively as they took note of the tilted Kiri headband on his forehead. "Mamochi Zabuza. The Demon of the Mist." Kakashi declared as he placed a hand by his headband, ready to move it out of the way and reveal his Sharingan if he needed to.

"Hatake Kakashi. The famed Copy Ninja. I feel honored. Last I heard you had a brat that got into the books. I take it he's one of the two boys behind you?" The man asked as if this was just a normal encounter and they weren't enemies. Naruto tossed the rabbit aside and stepped forward as he made a hand sign and five clones poofed into existence and took up stances near Tazuna. "Ah yes, blonde hair and whiskers. The Kurai Kitsune. Now I'm really liking this mission."

"You won't be getting Tazuna. I'm sure you understand that Zabuza." Kakashi kept his calm as he made sure to be ready for the slightest sign of movement from his enemy. Naruto was also standing a few feet behind him and was just as tense and ready. They had faced missing nin before and he knew the routine. Sasuke and Sakura backed up closer to Tazuna and the clones while staring at Zabuza, one with a scowl and the other with some fear she was attempting to hide.

"My reputation would plummet if I didn't at least try anyways. But you know that yourself Kakashi." Zabuza said as he flipped and pulled out his sword before landing on the ground and he held his sword out to the side, the large flat of the blade parallel to the ground. "Tell me, the two by the clones; are they newbies or just wimps?"

"Both." Naruto commented with a dark glare at Zabuza. Sasuke scowled at being called a wimp but made no comment. "But that doesn't mean you're going to touch them either Mamochi." Said nin just shrugged and looked over at the two to see their faces.

"I can see they don't really seem to trust you yet Blondie. Do they know what you did to get in the book? Hell, do they know what I did to get in the book?" Zabuza asked. Seeing them looked slightly confused but still wary towards him he chuckled. "Well how about a little story kiddies? Back in Kiri we had a very harsh graduation exam-"

"Classmates would be paired off to fight each other. To the death." Kakashi interrupted. "It was this practice that led to the moniker 'Bloody Mist' that Kiri still holds to some extent. Though they dropped the practice after one year when a single student slaughtered the entire graduating class single handedly." Zabuza sighed as he gave a very obvious grin underneath his bandages.

"Yeah, I had some fun that day, killing all of those wimps. Do you know what it's like to have to kill the people you grew up with? The ones you considered your closest friends suddenly being out for your blood, all for the right to be a ninja. Felt great to me. I killed them all and was then chosen to become part of Kiri's good ol' Seven Swordsman." He said with a slight nod to the blade he still held out to the side. "But I heard that the little blonde killed more than I did in one go. Faster too if the stories are true." Sasuke and Sakura were now staring at Naruto as the boy clenched his fists and glared at Zabuza. "What was it? Twenty four genin, thirteen chunin, seven jonin, and two ANBU I believe. All with a smile too if the rumors are right." Zabuza said. Naruto just lowered his head as his two teammates and the bridge builder looked at him in shock.

"You're wrong." Naruto spoke. Zabuza scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Knew it. No way some Konoha pussy would kill that many with a smile." Zabuza then felt a weight on his sword and spun his head to see Naruto crouching on it with perfect balance and a glare at him. The spot he was in previously was empty.

"It was three ANBU." He said before kicking him in the face. Zabuza exploded into water as Naruto landed on his feet. "Tch, Mizu Bunshin." (Water Clone) Kakashi sighed and pulled up his headband, revealing his Sharingan eye to the world. "About time you pulled out your Sharingan sensei. For a second I thought you weren't going to use it here."

"I was just waiting for the right time Naruto." He remarked casually. They looked around before Zabuza appeared on the water from where they came. Sasuke wanted to erupt into questions as to why a non-Uchiha had their bloodline but a look from the ninja told him he'd explain later.

"Allow me to show you the finest of ninja arts. Kirigakure no Jutsu!" (Hidden Mist Technique) He shouted as a thick and heavy mist formed over the area. Naruto leapt back to be closer to his team and clones as Kakashi kept his eyes pealed and looked around.

"Eight choices." Zabuza started as his voice echoed through the mist. A simple act of ventriloquism made it impossible to pinpoint him in the area through sound. While he spoke he began leaking out large amounts of killing intent, freaking out Tazuna and Sakura as well as starting to make Sasuke shake. "Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, jugular vein, brain, kidneys, heart. Tell me, which should I go after first?" He asked darkly as the killing intent was raised higher. Kakashi was still looking around and Naruto seemed unaffected by it himself.

'_This killing intent, it's unreal! This is a battle between monsters! I… I can't take it!'_ Sasuke was shivering as he raised a kunai up towards his throat before the Naruto clone nearest to him slapped him across the face. Sasuke snapped out of it and glared at the clone. The clone however just stared back and spoke in a calm and clear voice.

"Stay calm Uchiha. Kakashi-sensei won't let us die and while I may not like you I promised myself to never let a teammate die in front of me. Not after last time." He added as he shook his head and kept looking around for Zabuza. Sasuke wondered what he could've meant but put it out of his mind for a later time as he kept his eyes pealed for any trace of the Kiri ninja. Suddenly all the clones had wide eyes as three grabbed the real people and dropped to the ground as the last two spun around to attack, only to get chopped in half by the sword Zabuza was swinging. Before the hunter could leap away he was cut across the chest by Kakashi. Zabuza went wide eyed before smirking and becoming water. Just as Kakashi realized his mistake his head was chopped off by Zabuza from behind.

"So much for an S ranked ninja." He remarked before feeling a kunai up at his throat as the 'Kakashi' in front of him dispersed into water. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the real Kakashi was standing behind him holding the kunai up.

"You know this is the real difference between A and S Zabuza." Kakashi pressed the kunai closer to Zabuza's throat as Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna stood up and retreated to a safe distance. The Naruto clones also got up but merely held out their left hands as flames burst into life over their gauntlets. Zabuza was switching between staring at the ninja knife at his throat and the three fires being aimed at him to fry him should he make a single bad move. A few feet away was the real Naruto going through hand signs at a slow pace. "If you want to live Zabuza, you'll leave now. You've lost and you know it." After about a minute of silence Zabuza chuckled.

"You know, I don't think I have." He said before another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and attacked getting him to spin around to defend himself while the Naruto clones threw their fireballs at the first. The first Zabuza just kicked Kakashi towards the water before jumping out of the way while the other exploded into water as the three fireballs all collided with it simultaneously. The original Naruto dispelled his clones as he finished his hand signs at a rapid pace.

"Futon: Diatoppa!" (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) Naruto shouted as he whipped his hands forward causing a large burst of wind to rush towards Zabuza. Said man ran through a few seals of his own at a rapid pace.

"Suiton: Suijinheki!" (Water Release: Water Encampment Wall) A wall of water rushed from the ground and blocked the wind jutsu as Zabuza took the moment to finish his retreat to the water as Kakashi landed on the lake. As soon as he touched the water he made four Mizu Bunshin that ran back towards Naruto. Kakashi whipped out a kunai and cut at the Kiri nin but Zabuza used his blade to block before kneeing the man in his gut. He then quickly made a few seals and stuck his hand out. Water from below the two rose up and trapped Kakashi in a ball of water as Zabuza turned his attention back to his clones to see that Naruto had already destroyed one and was leaping back to his team to avoid getting chopped to pieces by the other three.

"Fuck. Sensei got caught. I'm pretty sure he could get out of there but it would probably cost him too much chakra or would leave him open to an attack from Zabuza's blade." Naruto explained as he was catching his breath. Tazuna was shaking behind him while Sakura had a kunai out and stood protectively in front of him. This would've been reassuring if the girl didn't have obvious terror written all over her face. Sasuke had a kunai out and was scowling but had his eyes focused on the Zabuza clones as he tried to think of a plan. In the back of their minds, the three were scared of Naruto as well as Zabuza, but since he was fighting to protect them they could put it away for another time. "Uchiha, front and center!" Naruto shouted getting the boy to look at him in bewilderment as he leapt up to his side. "Do you know any fire jutsu besides that Gokakyu no Jutsu?" (Great Fireball Technique)

"One, why?" Sasuke asked as he tried to think about what his blonde teammate was planning.

"Is it stronger or more widespread then the fireball?" Naruto asked, completely ignoring his teammate's question. Sasuke put aside his anger at not being answered as he answered.

"Widespread. Mutliple small fireballs at multiple or single targets." Sasuke was still confused as Naruto grinned.

"Can you aim a few at all three clones and at the real Zabuza all at once?" Sasuke nodded so Naruto continued. "Good, do it. I'll use my Diatoppa to increase the power since wind powers up fire. After we do this, launch some shuriken and kunai at any targets that escape while I make sure sensei gets out." Sasuke nodded with a small smirk as he realized the blonds' plan. Both started running through hand seals before calling out the name of their jutsu.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" (Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)

"Futon: Diatoppa!" Sasuke launched eight fireballs at rapid speed that all flew off at the targets, two per Zabuza. The wind from Naruto's jutsu then reached the fire and pumped the size of the fireballs from the size of their fists to about the size of their heads while making the fire go from red to a bright blue. The clones did their best to move as the fire approached them but two weren't fast enough and got caught before the third was caught by a kunai to the head. The real Zabuza though was panicking and getting ready to move out of the way at precisely the right time when he saw Naruto rushing forward.

"Shit!" Zabuza ripped his hand out of the jutsu holding Kakashi prisoner as he leapt back running through hand signs to cast a jutsu. He barely managed to get a Suijinheki up in time to block the fire before he was holding back a kunai with his sword from Kakashi. It was then Naruto reached him and pulled back his gauntlet fist. Zabuza then noticed something about the metal glove that escaped his attention before; the fingers were pointed and tipped into claws.

"Hitsume!" (Fire Claw) Naruto shouted as the clawed gauntlet erupted into fire. Kakashi ducked down as Naruto slashed over his head at Zabuza's. The Kiri nin could only put up a flimsy defense to prevent his face from being burned or clawed off as the attack sent him flying back over the surface of the water. It was then he also noticed he had lost his sword and glared back to see the Naruto was now holding the blade and jumping back as Kakashi rushed in again to attack.

"Fucking brat!" Zabuza yelled as he ran through more seals yet again. Kakashi started to mimic him as he stopped about ten feet in front of him. "He's gonna pay for snatching my sword! I'll take it back and chop off his head! And will you STOP COPYING ME!" Zabuza yelled.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique) Both shouted in unison. Twin dragon's of water erupted from behind each man before launching at the opposite and canceling each other out. The two then started more signs as Zabuza grew even more frustrated at how Kakashi was just playing copycat now.

"Pathetic! Reduced to copying a superior opponent aren't you Kakashi. Well too bad for you but _you can't beat the original!"_ Zabuza shouted before Kakashi yelled the end with him getting the man to be surprised that Kakashi knew what he was going to say. Then to his greater shock Kakashi finished the hand signs they were doing even faster than he was.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique) Kakashi shouted as the water spiral slightly in front of him before rushing forward and slamming Zabuza back. The missing ninja was slammed into a tree and collapsed in a heap as Kakashi appeared above him.

"That eye… can you see the future?" He weakly asked.

"Yes. And your future is death." Just as he was about to kill Zabuza two senbon needles flew out and struck the Kiri nin in the neck. His eyes widened momentarily before they closed and he slumped down, motionless. Suddenly a figure appeared on the ground across from the dead ninja. The figure wore a mostly green battle kimono and had on a porcelain mask with slits for eye holes. At the masks' forehead was the four wavy lines representing Kiri while the bottom was painted with red lines that flowed up like smoke.

"You were right, his future was death." The figure had a soft-spoken voice and was clearly belonging to someone quite young. Kakashi sighed and pulled his headband down to cover his Sharingan once more before he checked Zabuza's vitals, pleased at the lack of a pulse. It was then that the genin and Tazuna came up.

"Your welcome hunter-san." Kakashi said with a slight nod. He began walking towards his team when the ninja spoke up.

"Not a problem. Now I must take care of the body. Young one, may I have Zabuza's blade back?" The shinobi asked. Naruto as the boy had the blade held on his back like Zabuza did, using chakra to make the giant cleaver stick to his back. Naruto looked over the hunter for a few seconds before grinning.

"Nope." He responded cheerfully. The hunter let out a growl as Sasuke and Sakura were wondering why he didn't just hand it over.

"Why not? That blade belongs to Zabuza."

"Who is now dead and no longer has any need for it. Plus since you stole sensei's kill, we can't get the bounty on his head. His legendary blade, Kubikiribocho (Decapitating Carving Knife), more than makes up for that loss. Besides, I snatched this in the fight fair and square. And it's quite common for shinobi to steal the weapons of those stronger when they can." Naruto responded, not losing the cheerful tone or amused look on his face as he could tell the hunter was seething under his mask.

"I can send you his bounty money after returning his head to Kiri. Will you return the blade if I do so?" He asked, Naruto smirked at the obvious frustration.

"If I remember correctly his blade is worth more than him anyways. So tell you what, have Kiri send a message to Konoha with the money and we'll send the blade back then. But until I have the money in my hands, I get a new toy." The hunter huffed but knew Naruto wouldn't change his mind so he grabbed one of Zabuza's arms and threw his weight over his back before vanishing in a Shunshin.

"Naruto, why didn't you just give the blade back?" Sakura asked now that the hunter had left and they were safe. Sasuke was eyeing the sword himself as Kakashi sighed and asked Tazuna if he was alright. Naruto dropped the cheerful grin and scowled as he looked at the spot the ninja just left.

"Because that wasn't a real hunter ninja." Seeing Sasuke and Sakura confused he explained. "Hunter ninja are tasked with locating missing ninja and killing them or returning them to their village. When the hunter makes a kill, they're supposed to immediately chop off their head and burn the body with a fire jutsu on the spot. They then seal the head away and take it back to their village for the bounty as well as to show their mission was accomplished. However, that hunter didn't follow protocol and rather tried to get Zabuza's sword back. Plus, senbon were used. Senbon are not killing items but rather are meant for paralyzing and weakening targets in battle. That was not a hunter nin but an accomplice working to save Zabuza. So why would I give our enemy his main weapon back to him?" He explained before finishing off with a slight grin and question. Sasuke and Sakura were surprised he figured that all out and then after looking at how Kakashi was calmly talking with Tazuna, figured he knew the same thing. "But the question now is what to do with this thing. I mean, hell yeah it's a legendary blade and awesome as hell but I don't need it. I have my own weapon."

"A gauntlet isn't a weapon Naruto." Sasuke scoffed. Sakura nodded her head slightly in agreement as Naruto shrugged.

"It can be if used right. But I wasn't referring to the Kiba no Makai (Fang of Hell) anyways. I've got something else that I only use when I feel I need it, and that's more suited to my fighting style than this giant broadsword." Naruto explained as the two were now curious about what weapon he meant since he didn't seem to be carrying it on him. They then were confused as Naruto started sizing them up with a thoughtful expression. "Either of you want to try using it?"

They both stared in shock as he lifted the blade off his back and stabbed it into the ground. They then turned there attention to the blond to see he was completely serious. Sakura looked at the sword intently but then shook her head. "No thanks. I don't think I could use it right."

"Yeah you don't seem like a frontline Kenjutsu type now that I really think about it. Well, not without extensive training anyways." Naruto remarked offhandedly before facing Sasuke. "You on the other hand, do seem like a frontline fighter and would take far less training to use this baby in the field. So you want to try it? If not, I know someone back in Konoha who would give their life just to hold this thing, much less own it." Naruto could see Sasuke staring at the blade truly thinking it over and suddenly he smirked.

"Give it." Naruto chuckled and stepped back and motioned for him to take it. Sasuke stepped up and pulled the blade out with a lot of effort before holding it out and almost losing his balance. "It's heavy. Really damn heavy." He muttered as he broke out into a light sweat just from holding the thing up. Something Naruto noticed.

"Give it a few swings. If you lose your balance then I'll hold onto it until we get back home. You might need some more strength training before you can actively use it." Sasuke scowled at the thought of losing the new weapon he was just given and started swinging it around as easily as he could in a controlled and slow manner. After the fourth swing though he lost his balance from the weight and strength it took to lift the blade and stumbled. Naruto grabbed the blade from him and stabbed it into the ground again while holding him up for a second. "Yeah, we're waiting until we get home before you use this thing. Sasuke scowled and was about to retort but Naruto cut him off. "I'll give it to you, don't worry. I'm just going to seal it away into a scroll for now. While it's always good to learn new things and I can guarantee sensei will be giving the two of you some training while we're here, learning an entirely new fighting style is not good to do on missions. It's best to improve on what you know right now and let you learn this how to use this later. So for now, I'll keep it in a scroll and when we get back to Konoha we'll build your physical strength and help you with this. Got it?" Sasuke sighed and relented with a nod. The blond whipped out a scroll and brush as he began to write out a seal on the blank paper before laying the sword over it and channeling some chakra to it. The large blade vanished in a puff of smoke and Naruto wrapped the scroll up before placing it back into his bag.

"Alright team, we're going to hurry and take Tazuna home before any more help comes along and we fight again. Those jutsu took a lot out of me so we'll rest up for the night and I'll start training you tomorrow. Zabuza will be back, of that there's no doubt. So you'll need to be prepared. Now let's move!" He ordered. The three quickly fell into position as they followed their client home.

* * *

><p><strong>OMAKE – <strong>A Fellow Enthusiast

After the team announcements were made the man told them they had an hour for lunch before they had to report back here to meet their new senseis. Naruto and Koji got up and headed towards the door and waited for the kunoichi of their team while talking a little about what they might be doing. Koji's ninken, Kairi, had leapt up and was perched on his head. "The Rookie of the Year and the early graduate. Oh this'll definitely be fun." They turned to face their teammate with a smile. She had dark purple hair that was cut short, a little less than shoulder length, and dark, near black eyes. Her hair also framed her face and a stray bang was held in place by a silver hair clip on her right side. Her clothes were simple as well. She had on a dark blue kimono top that was tucked into her knee length black skirt. She also had on the common ninja wraps under the skirt and had black shinobi sandals on her feet. Her hands were covered by black gloves with a metal plate on the back while her left wrist had a small silver bracelet with an amethyst set into it. Her dark blue kunai pouch was set on her left leg and her headband was tied around her forehead by a dark blue cloth. Her figure was also a little more shapely than the rest of the class though she didn't flaunt it or show it off like most shapely kunoichi were prone to do.

"Hi. My name's Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you." Naruto said with a large grin. Koji just kept his grin up since he knew who she was and she knew him, after all they just went through class together for four years.

"My name's Sakuya. A pleasure. So, do you two have any plans for lunch?" She asked after introducing herself to the boy.

"I was going to go get some ramen at Ichiraku's. You two wanna come?" Naruto offered. They both shrugged their shoulders and followed the hyperactive boy as he ran off to lead the way.

* * *

><p>"This is getting very irritating." Koji muttered. They had been waiting for almost three damn hours for their sensei. The rest of the class had been picked up by their teams within half an hour at latest and here they were, still waiting for even a messenger to run in and say something about why the person was late. Koji was resting his chin on his arms as he leaned on his desk trying to not fall asleep while thinking about what kind of jonin was three hours late to a meeting. Sakuya was resting her face in one hand as her other was drawing on a piece of paper in front of her as Kairi sat next to her and watched her draw. Naruto however was bouncing in his chair, trying to avoid the temptation to break out screaming about how this guy was holding him back from being Hokage. Of course, three hours was very long to the soon to be ten year old boy and he did eventually snap.<p>

"Ok, that's it! This guy's getting pranked." He declared as he got up and grabbed one of the chalk erasers and placed it above the slightly open door so that it would fall and smack the ninja in the face when he finally arrived. Koji just rolled his eyes as Sakuya looked up and grinned.

"That's it? A single eraser? I could do so much better." She taunted. However the boy surprised her as he just shrugged his shoulders.

"I left all my prank supplies at home so I can't do that much right now." This actually got the girl to grin at him.

"You actually have supplies for pranking people? You do this often don't you?" The blond gave a sheepish smile as he nodded. "Well seeing as you don't have your stuff; let me help up this thing. You're right; this guy needs to get pranked." She then got up and after checking what was all in the room and talking with Naruto the boy broke out into a wide smile and started whispering back. The girl had an identical smile on her face as she listened and soon both nodded and started scurrying around the room and messing with supplies and wires setting everything up as best the could. Koji and Kairi watched the two running around setting up some sort of prank with little interest.

"You know you aren't going to catch a jonin with something childish like this right?" Sakuya huffed but ignored him while Naruto just grinned.

"Maybe, but either way; maybe our prank will impress him and we'll get a reward or something for doing it all!"

"Or you could just piss the guy off and make him punish you. Or worse all of us. I don't feel like getting into trouble for something the two of you did." Koji rolled his eyes as the two finished their work and then went to the other side of the room to wait for their sensei.

"Well we'll just wait and see won't we Koji?" Sakuya grabbed a seat as Naruto just stood by the window watching the door with eager eyes. Koji rolled his eyes but stayed silent as he slightly agreed the guy needed some kind of punishment for being so late. Kairi let out a slight bark but then curled up to nap next to her master.

Eventually they heard footsteps and the door opened. Instantly ninja wire snapped and launched four different erasers at the man's face as two pails of water fell over his head. And the final piece was when a balloon filled with some red paint Naruto had found in a closet smashed and exploded on him covering his front from head to toe in the color. The result was instant. Naruto was laughing as he held his sides and rolled on the floor. Sakuya was doubled over as she struggled to stay seated as she laughed at the man while Koji was covering his face and trying, horribly, to hold back his laughter. Kairi had even woken up and was yipping happily at seeing the jonin. Said jonin wore what seemed to be the standard uniform along with a face mask that covered his nose and mouth while his headband was tilted to the side to cover an eye. His hair was spiked straight up in a gravity defying style and was supposed to be silver, rather than the now paint filled red. The man just glared at the three of them with his one eye, which was twitching if one looked closely. "My first impression of you three… is that I hate you. All of you."


	5. 05

**Arashigan16:** Actually Hell can be either Jigoku or Makai. I prefer Makai and as such am sticking with that.

**raw666:** Yes, _canon_ Sasuke is more of a speed person. This Sasuke however will still be fast but will favor power a little more than canon. He'll still be a very fast ninja, but he'll be physically stronger than canon with a little less diverse jutsu list.

**Gold Testament:** It all depends on the story, but I have done that for some of mine. Others I leave as just plain Chapter ## and one I put Arc ## Chapter ##. It all depends on how I feel and for this, I just want to do the numbers bit.

**Animeguy1101:** You're the third person from three different stories to tell me I just used an idea they themselves were planning on using. My response to you will be the same as to them. Sorry, I didn't know. But I'm not changing it so if it makes you mad then get over it.

**Pyr00tje:** This is your favorite out of my stories? Wow, thanks. And thanks for pointing out the spelling error in Zabuza's name. As for Naruto's massacre, more info will come by the Chunin Exams before I make an entire chapter devoted to it. You'll have a pretty good idea of what happened before I finally do explain it all.

On a side note, everybody seemed to love the Omake. That's good, since there will be more as the story continues. And if it was just because of the prank at the end, yeah… there will be more of those too.

* * *

><p><strong>05 –<strong> Challenges of the Mental and Physical Kind

"Tsunami I'm back!" Tazuna shouted out as the group entered a small building. A young woman rushed out and after giving the old man a hug she turned and looked over the group. "These are the ninja's I hired. And trust me, they've already proven to be better than what I paid." Tazuna said as he stood to the side so that his daughter could introduce herself to them. She simply gave a short bow and thanked them for protecting her father before saying she'd have dinner ready soon. As she turned back to the kitchen they all saw a little boy glaring at them. He then turned and ran upstairs before they could make anything else of it though. "Let me show you guys the guest room." Tazuna led them upstairs to an empty room that sadly the four would have to share. But that didn't really bother them much. Once Tazuna left the room Kakashi turned to his students.

"Ok you three, you're going to have to follow my orders to the letter while we're here so that nothing happens to you guys." Naruto nodded seeing as he knew the routine while Sakura and Sasuke gave slightly shocked looks to how serious their sensei was being before nodding themselves. "Now, before I tell you what will happen, any questions?"

"Since you both figured out the hunter nin was fake, then why didn't you attack and kill them both?" Sasuke asked. Kakashi sighed as Naruto ignored it and just set out a sleeping bag on the floor for after dinner.

"One reason, we didn't know if that was the only person Zabuza had working with him. As such if I had actually killed him and then his accomplice, I may have caused more trouble for us in the end. Besides, our mission isn't to kill our enemies but to protect Tazuna until his bridge is finished. Since Zabuza is most likely still alive he will be coming to try and finish his mission as well as retrieve his sword." He then turned his head to Naruto. "By the way what are you going to do with that thing?"

"Since I have a weapon I offered it to them and Sasuke took the offer. It's a little too heavy for him so I sealed it into a scroll. But once we get back to Konoha and put him through some strength training he'll be able to use it. Maybe he'll get famous for using one of Kiri's famed blades against them one day, who knows?" Naruto said with a smirk as he finished setting his area up and just sat down. Kakashi nodded and then looked at Sasuke.

"Okay, smart move Naruto and I can start you, Sasuke, on some light strength training while we're here. But I'm sticking with Naruto's decision to wait until we get back to Konoha before you actually receive the blade and train with it." Surprisingly the Uchiha didn't argue this but just sighed and nodded his head in acceptance. Sakura then pointed something out that she had literally only barely noticed yet had flown over the heads of everybody else there.

"Wait, Naruto called Sasuke-kun 'Sasuke' and not 'Uchiha'." Kakashi looked over at Naruto with a curious glance, as did Sasuke but Naruto just shrugged.

"He finally earned some of my respect by not only going with the orders of a superior but then by pulling off the plan better than expected. Sure he reacted badly to the killing intent Zabuza put out but I had a similar response my first time as well so I won't hold that against him. Plus he's serious about his training and hasn't made any 'Uchiha are almighty' remarks in a few days so I can actually stand being around him without wanting to rip his head off." He then turned his head to Sakura. "You Haruno, still have a ways to go before you get my respect." Sakura looked down while Sasuke looked indifferent to Naruto's remarks though was secretly glad the boy would stop looking down on him like he was better. He was an Uchiha and he was better than everybody else, he just wasn't going to go back to voicing those comments until he was strong enough to back them up. Naruto had pounded it into his head that bragging without ability just pisses people off and turns them against you. Kakashi meanwhile sighed.

'_He's starting to open up to them more which is good, but he really needs to learn to be a bit more subtle with his words.'_ He thought as they heard Tsunami call them all for dinner. "Alright team, we'll start your training up tomorrow. For now let's just eat and relax."

* * *

><p>"First I need to cut off the bandages." The hunter nin muttered as their hand reached out to grab the ninja wraps covering Zabuza's face. Just then said nin's hand shot up and grabbed the hunter by the wrist before opening his eyes and looking at the masked ninja.<p>

"Damn Haku, you sure are brutal." He muttered as he let go and started pulling out the needles.

"Please be careful Zabuza-sama, you could injure yourself even more." The person, now identified as Haku, warned. Zabuza just grunted and rubbed his neck after taking the senbon out.

"So what happened after you hit me? And will you take off that ridiculous mask girl?"

"Aw, but I like the mask." Haku replied even as her hand reached up and took it off revealing brown eyes and a young beautiful face that had a slight smile on. She shook her head as she thought about what had just happened as a frown overcame her features. "After I 'killed' you I tried to get you're blade back peacefully but the blond boy refused saying he would keep it and if we wanted it back we'd have to pay for it. I didn't want to fight and risk blowing my cover and I couldn't argue with him more because you could have woken up and the ruse would've been ruined so I simply grabbed you and left."

"Damn that brat." Zabuza growled. The Kurai Kitsune, he truly was as devious as his namesake implied. He knew wind jutsu, apparently some fire jutsu, Kage Bunshin (said to be the best clone technique outside of the Rai Bunshin or Lighting Clone), and was faster and stronger than expected. And he wasn't even using the ability that landed him in the books either. Yeah, B-rank only covered him due to the lack of experience and because the kid was still growing. If he lived long enough, that kid would make S, no doubt about it. "Alright Haku, we'll have to make some kind of plan while I heal up. For now, just drag my ass to the hideout. I still can't feel my legs. I swear at times you're more sadistic than I am." Haku just giggled slightly before doing as she was told.

* * *

><p>"Alright you two, today I'm going to teach you how to climb trees." Kakashi declared as he led the three to a small clearing in the woods near the house. He then pulled Naruto to the side and gave him some orders in secret which the blond nodded to and left as Sasuke and Sakura were left in the clearing with him. Sakura looked like she was about to interrupt but Kakashi cut her off. "Without any hands. Watch." He then slowly walked over to a tree before channeling chakra to his feet and walking up without any trouble, as if the tree was still flat like the ground below them. After he walked up and then stood upside-down from a branch he turned back to his two other students. "This is a chakra control exercise that all ninja learn, at latest by the time they become chunin. It works by channeling chakra to your feet to provide a 'stick' that will let you walk and run on vertical or upside-down surfaces as if they were normal ground. It can also be used for other purposes. For instance, this is how Zabuza held his sword to his back without a harness for it." Kakashi explained. The two looked eager to try it and he tossed a kunai down to their feet. "Channel the chakra to your feet and then head up the tree and mark your progress with the kunai. Since you're just starting this, it would be best to get a running start."<p>

Both bent down and picked up the small ninja knives and were about to start when Sasuke had a question. "Wait, what about Naruto? What's he doing?" Kakashi had pulled himself so that he was sitting on the branch rather than standing on its bottom and was about to pull out his book when Sasuke asked his question. Kakashi paused for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, finding no harm in telling them.

"Naruto has already mastered this exercise, as well as the one that follows it so I sent him to guard Tazuna today. Plus with his Kage Bunshin, he can help build the bridge faster. He'll send a clone here if something comes up and we're needed." He told them as he pulled out his book and started reading. Sasuke just turned back to his tree and channeled chakra before running up it. He made eight steps before the bark splintered under his feet and he was pushed off. Quickly cutting a line to mark his progress he flipped back and got ready to run again.

"This isn't so hard once you try it." He looked up to see Sakura already sitting on a branch as high as their sensei smiling down. Sasuke looked at her with jealousy at how she did it so easily. As well as something else he couldn't identify. Pride? Happiness? He didn't really know but blocked the feeling out since his jealousy was more prominent at the moment. Kakashi glanced over at her and gave an 'eye-smile'. By now the two had learned that he wasn't very expressive since his face was covered and had learned that gesture was his 'smile' so to speak.

"Very good Sakura, however the reason you find it so easy is because you have smaller reserves which makes the chakra easier to control. Sasuke has larger reserves, making control harder for him. To help build your reserves Sakura, I want you to keep running up and down the tree. This will not only build your reserves but your physical stamina as well. So hop to it." He said as he then turned back to his book. Sakura sighed and leapt out of the tree before getting ready to go up it again. Since Sasuke heard Kakashi explain it he realized that she only got it so easily because she wasn't as strong as he was. At least that was how his mind interpreted it, keeping his ego safe from thinking he was the weakest on the team. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and got ready to try again.

* * *

><p>"<span>Kage Bunshin no Jutsu<span>!" Naruto declared as he stood off to the side while Tazuna waited a moment. Suddenly a hundred clones all appeared and Naruto started giving out orders, ignoring the shocked looks of all the workers. "Okay, twenty of you are to patrol the area and make sure everybody here stays safe. The other eighty are to follow Tazuna's orders and help build the bridge. The faster this thing is built the sooner Nami can recover and we can go home. Now hop to it!" The clones nodded their understanding and set off to do the work they were told to do while the original went back to Tazuna's side. "And while you have more workers to order, I'll sit over at the side to keep watch over you and stay ready incase my clones find something."

"O-ok." Tazuna stuttered out, still in shock at the boy making a hundred copies of himself and then ordering them around. Finally he shook his head and had started telling the clones where they could be used and to ask the other workers to show them how to do things. As the worker clones rushed off to do their new jobs Tazuna walked up to one of them and had to ask a question that had been bugging him since their encounter with Zabuza. "Hey, you have all the knowledge of the real one right?"

"Yeah but one good hit and we go 'poof' and he'll have to make more." The clone answered.

"Alright. Um… Is what that Zabu-guy said true? Did you really-"

"Yes." The clone interrupted as he looked to the ground. Tazuna looked shocked someone so young could kill so many and was getting worried to be so close to a boy that killed with a smile. As if sensing his worry the clone placated his fears. "Don't worry, I'm not going to go nuts and start killing everybody. That was a one time thing, I haven't killed since then. You're not in any danger from me, to be honest I hate killing."

"Then why did you?" Tazuna asked, curious about the boy. The clone just got a far off look in its eyes as it thought about whether to answer him or not.

"Something… something happened. Something really bad happened and I couldn't handle it. I snapped and didn't calm down until after I had killed all of those people." The clone then shook its head. "I better get to work on the bridge." It said to change the subject before walking off. Tazuna watched it leave before looking towards the real Naruto, who was sitting cross-legged with his head down and a blank look on his face while he had his eyes closed.

* * *

><p>"So how far are you on the exercise?" Naruto asked as they were all eating dinner. Tazuna had come home and quickly thanked Kakashi for sending Naruto to the bridge as his clones were speeding up production by a massive amount. While they would occasionally vanish from a small accident like hitting their own hands with the hammers and such, after ten would dispel the boy would replace them and have them go right back to work. If this continued, the bridge would be finished within a week or two rather than a month or so.<p>

Sakura swallowed the food she was eating before answering for both her and Sasuke as he was still scarfing down food. "Well I could do it on my first try so sensei told me to keep doing it to build my reserves up while Sasuke-kun is almost all the way up already." Naruto nodded as Sasuke bit back a groan from being remind that Sakura could do it so easily. "Sensei said you completed this and the next step so if you don't mind me asking, what's the next step?"

"You're not going to go off and do it yet are you?" Naruto asked. Sakura shook her head no and just said she was curious. The blond just shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. It's water-walking."

"Water-walking?"

"Yeah, channeling chakra to your feet to walk on water." Naruto clarified with a shrug. "Me, sensei and Zabuza all did it in the fight, remember? The difference between water and stable ground is that the chakra output has to be constantly monitored and changed. Unlike the tree you guys are using now, the waters surface is constantly moving so you have to adjust the chakra you put out to compensate. Not only that but it takes more chakra to stand on a liquid surface than it does a solid anyways."

"After you can do the tree-climbing for three hours straight, I'll start you two on water-walking. I suspect that once Sasuke actually gets the hang of the exercise he'll be able to do it easily while you're getting close Sakura so I'll most likely add it to the workout routine back in Konoha after the mission." Kakashi interjected. He had already finished eating and was wanting to read his book but Tsunami would glare and yell at him anytime he reached for it in front of Inari. So after trying just once, he promised not to pull it out while the young boy was nearby. "For now though, you two just need to concentrate on finishing this exercise and getting stronger."

"Why do you even bother?" Attention was drawn to the young boy that was glaring at all of them. "You're all just going to die anyways. Gato's just gonna kill you." Tazuna and Tsunami sighed as the boy belittle and ranted towards their ninja guests while Sasuke and Sakura were wondering what was wrong with him. Kakashi ignored it and Naruto scoffed as he went back to his food.

"I'd love to see him try. From what I know, Gato's just a midget with a cane. No way is someone like that going to take a ninja down. So just quit whining and we'll show you when we stop him from hurting your grandfather."

"What do you know huh?" Inari shouted back. "You don't know our country! You don't know what its like to suffer!" Kakashi's eyes widened and he was about to say something but was cut off as Naruto slammed his non-gauntlet covered hand on the table getting everybody's attention. Then they all flinched at the cold and dead look in the blond's eyes as he glared at Inari.

"I know nothing of suffering? I know nothing about it? Tell me _boy_" Naruto spat out making the child start to shiver. "Have you ever had to live on the streets? Or how about living with the fact that your entire village wants you dead for something out of your control? What do you know? Huh? I never got to know my parents as they died the day I was born! I was kicked out of the orphanage at five years old because the caretakers hated me for a reason I never knew! I had to live off garbage and scraps for two years before the only kind person in my life found me and gave me an apartment! But all that did was tell the village where I was at; causing the mobs that would beat and try to kill me to break in to attack me! Have you ever been beaten within an inch of your life actually hoping for death just to make it all stop, only to be saved for it to happen all over again the next week? I had to go through that for four years, on my birthday no less! And then when I finally get people that actually liked me as a friend and that I enjoyed being with, they're killed in front of me by enemies that just wanted to torture me!"

By now the blond had begun leaking out his killing intent without realizing it getting the civilians and his partner genin to be shaking in fear as he continued to glare at Inari. "I've known nothing but suffering my entire life and you accuse me of not knowing it? You have a mother and grandfather that love you! You have a family that would do anything for you! I doubt you've even gone into town to see the orphans on the street that are suffering worse than you! And yet they at least aren't skulking around in self pity trying to drag down everybody around them! They do their best to make each day better! Your grandfather is doing his best to free this country by making his bridge! And yet you spit in their faces by moping around and yelling at anybody that tries or has hope! Stop your whining boy because you don't know anything of hardship or suffering and have no right to even think of speaking of them!" As Naruto finished shouting he stood up and headed out, slamming the door behind him. As soon as he was gone Inari got up and ran to his room as the others did their best to catch their breath.

"Sensei, is… was all that true?" Sakura shakily asked the question on all their minds as they tried to calm themselves down. "Did Naruto really go through… all of that?" She asked, unable to bring herself to say it. Kakashi sighed as he really didn't want to talk about it all.

"Yes, to all of it. His parents died in the Kyuubi attack twelve years ago and he was placed in the orphanage like a lot of others. However there's something about him, something I'm not at liberty to say as it's his secret, that caused the older generation to hate and despise him. The older generation then turned you, the younger, against him by saying he was a bad child or that he was dangerous. The matron that ran the orphanage eventually grew tired of him and through him onto the streets in the middle of winter when he was five. Naruto would be on the run from drunken mobs almost every night and only survived by grabbing food from the trash outside. He spent two years like that before Hokage-sama found him hiding in an alleyway one day. The Hokage instantly took him to his place and after finding out everything he set him up with an apartment and a stipend of money to survive on until he could become a ninja and live off his own earnings." Kakashi shook his head as he thought about it all. He had wanted to take Naruto in and adopt him, knowing who his father and mother were. But as an ANBU, he knew he'd never be able to take care of a child so he hoped Sarutobi or Jiraya would. But one only stopped in the village once every few months and the other was too busy running said village and being with his own family to watch over one small child. "But like Naruto said, that just alerted the people to where he was." Kakashi continued. "His apartment was broken into almost daily, his things stolen and broken just because. And then he started at the Academy and his education was stunted for the most part, since people wanted to keep him week and pathetic. Then he barely managed to graduate early, passing by only four points higher than the fail mark. He got a couple teammates and me to spend time with him, even if it was at first only for training. But that was enough for him, he for the first time in his life had friends. We were a team for about a year and a half and grew really close when_ it _happened. I won't say as I don't think you two are ready to know about it, but his teammates died in front of him."

Sasuke and Sakura were looking down each thinking about how bad Naruto has had it while Tsunami was freely crying as Tazuna felt he needed a drink. Kakashi only had one thing left to add at this point. "Naruto blamed himself for their deaths. He still does in fact. It's why he trains himself into the ground and grew cold to everybody. He doesn't want to let anybody die in front of him again, and he doesn't want to get close to anybody either because he doesn't want to feel that pain of loss again."

* * *

><p>"Fucking brat. Saying I don't know suffering. Let's see him go through one day of my life and survive. If it wasn't for this fucking furball even I would have died." Naruto muttered angrily as he stomped into a clearing in the woods. He looked around before summoning a hundred clones and looking at them all. "I need to blow off some steam. No jutsu, all of you against me." He then threw out a punch and dispelled the clone closest to him. This had two effects; it got the clones that were close enough to hear his orders begin to attack him and told the farther ones what they were doing. Naruto just gritted his teeth and started fighting, trying to work out the anger at the boy's words. They brought up a lot of bad memories.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Omake<strong> – Becoming a Team

The students were now sitting on the roof of the Academy as their sensei was sitting across from them with a light glare. After telling them to meet up here he had rushed off and changed into a new pair of clothes as well as washed the paint off his face and out of his hair and rushed back, taking a little over ten minutes but considering how they were still snickering at his expense, they didn't seem to mind waiting a little longer. Kakashi sighed but decided to start things off. "Why don't we begin with introductions."

"What do ya wanna know sensei?" Koji asked as he scratched Kairi behind her ears while she sat in his lap. Kakashi just shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh just a little bit about you guys. Any likes or dislikes you have. Maybe your dream and hobbies that you enjoy. That sort of stuff." The three genin nodded and Koji decided to start.

"The name's Inuzuka Koji and this pup here is my partner Kairi. I like dogs, beef and hanging out with my cousin Kiba. I don't like cats, rain, or Kiba's sister Hana. For hobbies, I train or spend time wandering the village with Kairi here. And my dream is to become the greatest hunter nin in Konoha!" Koji declared with enthusiasm. Kakashi nodded and then pointed at the only girl on the team.

"My name's Sakuya. I don't know my family name since I'm an orphan. I like pranks, my friends, and watching the sunset. I don't like fangirls as they give kunoichi a bad name and I'd like to beat the shit out of them any chance I get." This got Koji to chuckle as he remembered a few of the class sparring lesson where she would actually do just that. "My hobbies are training and learning to cook. And my dream for the future is to become a powerful and respected kunoichi before settling down and having a family." As soon as she was finished Naruto started talking.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, pranks, and the Hokage. I don't like the time it takes to cook ramen and people who try to hold me back. My hobbies are training and pranking people who don't like me. And my dream is to be the greatest Hokage ever!" Naruto shouted. Kakashi closed his one eye as he thought about his team. He had an aspiring hunter, a strong willed kunoichi (which was rare to get right out of the Academy) and a hyperactive boy wanting to lead the village. Well, time to see what they can do.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi. I like a lot of things and dislike just as many. As for my hobbies… I have a few dreams." All three students sweatdropped and had the same thought run through their heads.

'_All we got was his name.'_

"Anyways, now that that's out of the way, I'll tell you what we'll be doing." He said as they stared at him with expectant faces. "Tomorrow, meet at Training Ground 7 at seven a.m. for survival training." They looked confused so he explained. "There's one last test you have to pass to see if you'll be genin of the village. And I'll be giving it to you tomorrow."

"Then what was the point of the test we passed here?" Sakuya asked.

"That was just to see if you had the ability to be useful and weed out the hopeless cases. This test will see if you have what it takes to be genin. Just so you know, this test has a sixty-six percent failure rate. Meaning out of the eight teams formed this year, it's likely only one or two will pass at best. If you fail, you'll be sent back here for another year before getting to try again." This got all three children to pale as none of them wanted to be stuck in the Academy for another year. "Now, remember to be at the grounds at seven a.m. tomorrow. Oh and don't have breakfast either, or you'll puke." He then vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving the three on the roof alone. They just looked at each other before Koji shook his head and got up.

"I'm gonna see if my Tou-san is back from his mission and can give me some last minute training. I'll see you both tomorrow." Kairi barked her own good bye before jumping onto Koji's shoulder and leaving. Sakuya just sighed and turned back to Naruto.

"So what're you gonna do?"

"I've gotta train! I'm gonna go see Hokage-jiji to see if he has any cool jutsu's I could use tomorrow. Bye Sakuya!" Naruto shouted as he got on his feet and bolted away. Sakuya stared at where he was not even a second, somewhat impressed with his speed before shaking her head. Her teammates were getting some last minute training in so she would too. With that thought she got up and left to head home to grab her supplies.


	6. 06

Sorry this took so long. I got sidetracked by my Naruto/Fairy Tail crossover and other stories for a bit. But the main reason was also that I was having trouble with this chapter. I knew what I wanted to happen before and after the fight but it was the fight itself that was giving me blanks. Now I've come up with something so I can get back to this. But first, review responses.

**Pyr00tje:** Yes it will. The gauntlet actually is an important part of Naruto's character, as is the 'weapon' I mentioned he has earlier.

**nxkris:** No Naruto doesn't know Hirashin. Rasengan, I'll just freely admit yes since it's revealed in this chapter.

**Anonymous guy called 'Question':** Make an AU of my AU? I will say it would seem fun, but in reality I don't think I will. I put effort into making his former teammates seem realistic and to get people to like them but at the same time I didn't want them to become major players. They were always meant right from the get-go to get killed off and cause Naruto's change from happy-go-lucky idiot into the dark-yet-caring person I'm setting him up as. While I love how you and everybody else seem to love Koji and Sakuya, they were never meant to last.

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><p><strong>06 –<strong> The Power of Experience

"_**Dream child. Dream of the 'brother' you admired. Dream of the girl you came to love. Dream of the happiness they brought. Of they loneliness they saved you from. And then child, dream… dream of the red moon that took it all away…"**_

* * *

><p>"This looks promising." Haku muttered to herself as she knelt down and plucked an herb from the clearing she was coming up on. Looking around she could see the clearing was filled with different herbs that could be useful to her or her master. With a slight smile she continued her work and gathered them up until she moved further into the clearing and froze. Lying up against a tree, clothes torn and dirtied in various places, was the blonde boy from Konoha. The one who had stolen Zabuza's sword and ruined his fight against Kakashi. The supposed 'Kurai Kitsune' that Zabuza had told her was to be killed if he got in their way again or refused to return Zabuza's prized blade. Haku narrowed her eyes as she slowly stalked up to his prone form to look him over when she froze at the sight of his face. It wasn't the calm he showed during the battle or even the amusement he had shown when arguing to keep the sword. It was twisted in pain as he twitched occasionally in his sleep. It was almost as if he was having a nightmare. But of what, she couldn't possibly know. That was when Zabuza's words came back to her.<p>

"_Haku, that blond brat. Stay away from him if you can. Only fight him if you must. He's dangerous and I'm not sure on whether or not you could defeat him." Zabuza ordered as she laid him down in his bed to rest and recover. She frowned slightly at his caution considering normally he would praise her as someone even he would hate to face._

"_What's so dangerous about him?" The former swordsman merely sighed as he rested his head back against the pillows before explaining._

"_I don't have the full story here Haku. I don't think anybody does outside of Konoha or Iwa, since it was them he rampaged against. You saw those two with him right? Well did you hear me ask if they were new or weak and his reply of both? He had a couple teammates before those two. I don't know what happened since everybody is really tight-lipped on it but the word on the street is that they got killed in front of him and he snapped. Sort of like how you said you did against your father and that mob." Haku flinched slightly when he brought that up before nodding. That pain from losing her mother and then being called a monster from her own father, coupled with the fact her own father was trying to kill her made her lose control of her powers and kill them all before she calmed down to see what she had done. She had then run and shortly after met Zabuza. If this boy had a similar experience, she could only imagine how badly he reacted to kill so many with a smile. She was slightly curious as to how the boy kept moving on since she could only do so after Zabuza found her and took her in. Did he have someone precious to help him through his pain?_

"_Just avoid fighting him if you can Haku." Zabuza repeated, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I'll try to handle him after dealing with Kakashi and I'll make sure to get my sword back too." Haku merely nodded as she left to gather some of the supplies that would be needed to get her master back to full strength, but her mind kept wandering back to the blond._

"I wonder… What exactly happened to you that you can only show your pain when you sleep?" Haku muttered as she came closer to the boy as he slept. She had wanted to speak with him and see what he was like outside of a combat situation. Maybe get to know him and see how he was dealing with his loss. However she also knew this could be her best shot to take him out for her masters' ambition. He was a threat, and a thief too now that she remembered it. It was obvious the blade wasn't on his person currently, he probably had it sealed away or left it back at the bridge builders' house. She would have to find it. But for now she could do something she'd been thinking about for the past couple days. Slowly her hand reached out to him.

"_Get out of here! Run!"_

"_Koji-nii!"_

"_Naruto-kun move!"_

"_Sakuya-chan! NO!"_

"NO!" Naruto shouted as he woke with a start. Instinct kicked in as he wasn't alone and he had the girl pinned by her throat in less than a second. His gauntlet covered left pinning her down and slowly choking her as his right was cocked back with a ball of swirling blue chakra. But all Haku noticed were his eyes. They were blood red, no pupil or anything else. It was just as if his sclera was blood red and had overtaken the rest of his eyes. Yet through the dark and violent glare they held, she could see the pain coursing through them. Naruto was about to slam his jutsu into her before the whispers of his darkest day stopped and he realized he wasn't dreaming anymore. His features softened as he actually took stock of what he was doing, pinning a random girl down by her throat and about to use an A-rank jutsu against her for no reason at all. With a gasp he dropped the jutsu and let go of her as he stumbled back, his eyes returning to their normal blue hues shortly after. The girl started coughing and rubbing her throat as Naruto was panting from the adrenaline rush he had woken up with. "Oh Kami, I'm so sorry. I just did all that off instinct, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"It's *cough* it's okay. I shouldn't have snuck up on a sleeping ninja." Haku apologized as she rubbed her throat where his metal covered hand had been choking her. After a few seconds she looked up to see Naruto just staring at her with a frown on his face and a look that obviously was guilt. "Really, it's alright."

"I still feel bad about it. I mean, I just attacked you for no reason. Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?" Haku just stayed silent for a moment before looking around the clearing.

"Well I was picking herbs before finding you sleeping here. If you have the time, I wouldn't mind some help getting them all." Naruto just gave a slight smile and nodded as she began to point them out for him to grab. As they worked she figured she'd try and make small talk to learn more about him and his team. Plus since he really seemed truly sorry about attacking her, she figured he'd never suspect her to be an enemy or having ulterior motives. "So, ninja-san, what were you doing out here? It's not exactly good to sleep in the middle of the woods. You could get sick."

Naruto suppressed the urge to snort at that. He couldn't get sick, Kyuubi pumped his immune system up to the level that even poisons couldn't kill him. Slow him down temporarily yes, but never kill him. "I'm here with my sensei and teammates to guard someone as they work. But last night, well I got a little frustrated with the clients' family so I came out here to blow off some steam. Must've fallen asleep afterwards I guess." Naruto answered. Haku merely nodded as she plucked a few more herbs.

"I see. So what happened? If you don't mind that is." She added, actually curious to what could possibly set him off to know to avoid it. Naruto shook his head before responding.

"The clients' grandson said some stuff that he didn't have any right to talk about as if he knew it all. It just got under my skin and I argued a bit before heading out here so I wouldn't snap and attack him."

"I see. But aren't ninja supposed to be in control of their emotions? I mean, that's what I've heard from the few ninja I've met before."

"I know, but this… What he said had really hit close to something I'd rather not talk about." Naruto answered quickly, showing he didn't want to talk about that subject anymore. Haku was slightly discouraged but decided to drop it and turn to something else.

"So you said you're here with your sensei and teammates. What're they like?"

"Sensei is alright, just really lazy when he can get away with it. But my teammates… One's a stuck up prick and the other is a useless fan girl to said prick. I honestly don't want anything to do with them." This actually caught Haku off guard as Zabuza told her Konoha practically beats teamwork into there children's heads. That was partially why Konoha was seen as the strongest, they always worked together and covered each others faults to the point they were a near unstoppable machine if they could actually build up the momentum. It's why Zabuza would always try to separate any Konoha ninjas he came across from their teammates as they would always work together to fight more effectively than most could handle. To hear that this boy wanted nothing to do with his teammates was strange considering everything she knew of his village.

"Why is that? I mean aren't you teammates? Doesn't that mean you're supposed to work together? Be friends?" His response caught the girl even further off guard. He scoffed the moment she said friends.

"They aren't my real team. Don't get me wrong; when needed, I'll work with them without a problem. But outside of those situations they do nothing but get on my nerves. We aren't a real team, just people stuck together due to outside influence and need. My real team…" Naruto's eyes seemed to glaze over as he thought back to them. "My real team died a long time ago." Haku was silent as she gathered up the herbs the two and picked and placed them in her basket to carry before she stood.

"Do you have anything precious to you?" She suddenly asked, catching the boy off guard. "Anybody you care about and would do anything to protect? Because I believe, that when a person has something precious to keep safe, that is when they gain true strength." Naruto smiled as he stood.

"Preaching to the choir there. I've always lived my life to protect others. I know what you mean and agree with it. But it's when you lose the things that are precious to you, that your strength becomes your greatest pain as well." Naruto shook his head before walking off. "It was nice talking with you. And again, I'm sorry about when I woke up." Haku just nodded her head and walked in the opposite direction. After talking with him she could see, the boy had lived like her. He wasn't a bad person, but rather he just seemed to have lost his way after losing those precious to him. Much like she would if Zabuza were to be taken from her. _'I'm truly sorry we must be enemies. I feel that we might have been friends had we met under different circumstances.'_

* * *

><p>"Ah, Naruto. Welcome back." Kakashi had just stepped out of the house when he saw Naruto walking up from the woods. After taking a look at his slightly disheveled appearance he blocked the frown that wanted to come out. "Are you up to watching over Tazuna again today Naruto?"<p>

"Let me shower and change into clean clothes and I'll be good."

"Okay then. I'll be taking Sasuke and Sakura out again to train them up some more. Send a clone if something happens." He said as the two named genin stepped out behind him. Both saw Naruto and while Sasuke was trying to stare at him curiosity while keeping his aloof and uncaring appearance, Sakura couldn't bring herself to look anywhere near him. Sighing to himself Naruto walked past but as he came by the genin he spoke a little bit and kept walking.

"I neither need nor want your pity because of my life story. Just focus on getting stronger so that you can stop it from happening to you or those you care for." Sasuke and Sakura looked at him in slight shock as he just walked past them into the house. They didn't have to be ninja to tell that he was still mad about what Inari had said last night, it was written all over his face. But they weren't expecting him to say something like that. The two turned to each other silently before Sasuke just shrugged and walked off towards where Kakashi was waiting with Sakura following a moment later after glancing back at the house one last time.

* * *

><p>As Naruto came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around himself, heading towards the room his team was staying in, he caught Inari watching him from his door. When Naruto turned and faced him he flinched and closed the door to hide himself. Naruto shook his head and continued on to get dressed and head out. Behind the door though, Inari was thinking about what Kakashi had told him last night.<p>

_The boy was sitting at the pier nearby their house just staring out at the water with a few tears coming from his eyes as Kakashi walked up and sat next to him. After a few minutes of silence, the boy asked the question on his mind. "Why?"  
><em>

"_You're going to have to be a bit more specific."_

"_Why doesn't he cry about it all? Why does he act like nothings wrong?" Kakashi sighed as Inari asked but this was originally why he came out in the first place so he answered him._

"_Because he knows crying doesn't solve anything. The last time he cried was at his old teammates' funeral. He hasn't shed a tear since, as if they all just dried up. When he was young, crying just seemed to make the mobs attack him more. When his old team died, crying didn't bring them back. He seemed to figure that crying about his problems just made people dislike him more. It never brought anything positive, so he just stopped doing it. He was like that when we were all a team together too. He never cried, no matter how bad an injury he got or anything like it. And then when his old team died he cried about it for a while, but he saw that it wasn't doing anything so he just stopped." Kakashi turned to find Inari looking up at him and repressed another sigh at how the boy was still crying. "Listen Inari, what you said really got to him. Naruto has had a horrible life for the most part. And the worst part about it in his opinion, is that he knows there are others out there that have had it or do have it worse than he does. He didn't mean to snap at you, but seeing how you are when you live what many would consider a good life just rubbed him the wrong way." The man stood as he turned back to head into the house s Inari turned back to the water. "Make sure not to stay out to late, your mother would be worried sick about you." After hearing the boy mutter and 'okay' Kakashi headed back inside to let the boy think things over._

* * *

><p>"Sensei?"<p>

"Yes Sakura?" The two genin were still running up and down trees for training with Kakashi keeping an eye on them while reading his book from a little ways off. Well, Sakura was running up and down. Sasuke was still having trouble reaching the top before falling off and restarting at the bottom.

"Do you think you can help me when we get back to Konoha with something?" Sasuke was resting for a moment and looked to the scarecrow to see him shrug as Sakura was resting up in a branch. She had been getting better at holding the chakra flow while running up and down as she could do it for an hour and a half now before she had to rest. "I don't want to be a weak link to the team." Kakashi gave a smile at her attitude towards bettering herself.

"We'll have to wait and see when we get back to Konoha now won't we? If anything, I can have Naruto train Sasuke in using his new sword and give you some pointers and tricks to use when we get back. I'm proud that you're going to start training harder Sakura." She just nodded as she took another deep breath to fill her lungs before jumping down from the branch and starting her runs up and down the tree again. Sasuke also got back to his runs shortly after. While he was a little miffed that Sakura might be getting one on one time with their sensei, he remembered what Naruto said when they first became a team.

"…_Sensei and I were fine on our own but the council was throwing a fit to get him to teach you. The only compromise Hokage-sama could do was to place you on my team. They wanted to just drop me and have him exclusively teach you."_

After seeing his Sharingan, Sasuke could easily tell that was why the council fought so hard to make sure Kakashi would be his sensei. As the only other person in Konoha with the Uchiha kekkei genkai, only Kakashi could teach him the subtleties of it that he couldn't learn from anyone other than another user. While he was glad to know people cared about his education that much, after getting to know Naruto and Kakashi, he was not liking how the council seemed to be putting him above everything else. He liked that they wanted to give him the best, but he never wanted to get that at the cost of taking it from another. Killing Itachi was his goal, but he didn't want to be considered as bad as the man to do it and actions like that could build resentment towards him and his clan once he got around to rebuilding it.

Besides, he figured training one on one with Naruto wouldn't be too bad. He didn't have his Sharingan yet so there wasn't anything Kakashi could truly teach him that would be something only he could use. And Naruto said he had a weapon. Since it didn't seem like Kakashi had one then this would probably be something Naruto would be able to help him with better. So let Sakura get her special training from Kakashi, he had another source to make sure he still got strong enough to do what he must.

* * *

><p>The days passed without incident for the rest of the week. Naruto would watch over the bridge with Tazuna while also making clones to help build. Thanks to the memory feedback of the clones, they wound up getting better and more competent each day to the point that the old man would simply give them simple orders and they'd get straight to work without having to be taught what to do. Sasuke made it to the top of the tree two days after Naruto's little explosion while Sakura was able to last three hours on the fourth day. Kakashi wasn't going to start them on water walking until they returned though so since Sasuke finished before Sakura he started him on physical exercises to get him stronger to use the Kubikiri upon the return home. For Sakura he merely taught her a concealment genjutsu so that she could hide herself and her allies from her enemies. There wasn't enough time to make her strong enough to be offensive and she knew it as well so he instead gave her a technique to keep her alive longer and help Naruto or Sasuke.<p>

"Alright guys, it's been a week. If the damage done to Zabuza has been treated correctly then this will be around the time he can start showing up to attack so we're all going to the bridge to guard Tazuna. Naruto, leave some clones behind to watch over the house." Kakashi ordered as the three genin were eating breakfast. Naruto silently nodded and created ten clones that then all went off to get into defensive positions around the house while staying out of sight. While Tazuna was a little worried at what Kakashi had said, he felt safe in their hands so was willing to go along with it all without complaint. After eating they all headed to the bridge but what was found upon their arrival was troubling. A thick mist over the bridge with all the men either knocked out or dead. Tazuna wanted to run up to them but Kakashi held his arm out. "Sakura, you guard Tazuna. Sasuke, Naruto; you both handle any helpers Zabuza has. I'll take the man himself."

"Oh, you think the brats are gonna be any good against my apprentice Kakashi?" Slowly the mist cleared up enough for them to see they were surrounded by a group of Zabuza clones. The real Zabuza stepped up further down the bridge with the fake hunter at his side. Across his back was what looked like an ordinary broadsword. "I'm going to take back my sword too Kakashi. Can't believe I had to bring out my old training blade." He muttered at the end as he adjusted the blade on his back.

"Naruto, Sasuke. If you would please." Kakashi calmly spoke and the two boys nodded, Sasuke with a smirk as Naruto's face was a cold glare. The two vanished from sight but then reappeared back to back in front of Kakashi as all the clones dropped into puddles of water.

"Heh, I expected that from the blonde but you've been working the other one pretty hard haven't you? Haku here may have a challenge now." He taunted while on the inside both of them were worried. Zabuza believed he could handle Kakashi if he went at him right and he was sure Haku had a chance against the blonde. Or at the very least could hold him off enough for him to finish off the S-ranked foe he had before he would join in and then they would double team him. But with another of Kakashi's students able to fight, Haku's chances had dropped considerably, but they needed to appear confident to try and throw off their enemies. It was a commonly employed tactic that worked fairly well against the young or the new right away and could through off the more experienced after a bit of effort. Make it appear that nothing is bothering you and that everything is going your way and the enemy will be unnerved by how everything they do 'seems' to be failing and they could lose their cool and mess up. Then you swoop in for the kill and bitch about how close they really came to winning afterwards. If you showed how things unnerved you then the enemy would be quicker to employ the strategy against you. "Well Haku, why don't you go play for a little while so me and Kakashi can have some fun." Zabuza said as he waited for Kakashi to make a move. Haku merely took a few steps forward before vanishing.

"Too slow!" Sasuke shouted as he rushed forward with a kunai and parried a strike from Haku's senbon. The two traded a few blows before Haku jumped back to dodge a flaming fist from Naruto that struck right where she was a second ago. The girl had never really been happier to where a mask as she was frowning and sweating just from being to close to the hit. _'My fight with just the Kurai Kitsune was already going to be difficult. With this boy here, I don't think I could win!'_ Haku ducked under a kick from Naruto before holding Sasuke's kunai back with a senbon needle. "Give up. You can't take both of us on." Sasuke taunted. While she knew it was true, she didn't let that fact slip and instead replied as if it wasn't bothering her that she was fighting them.

"Oh really? Well I feel as though I have the advantage right now." Sasuke looked confused before she raised up one hand and started using one handed seals for a jutsu. This got Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi to go wide eyed. _'She can use one handed seals?'_ Was the simultaneous though of all three before Haku stomped the ground to activate her jutsu. "Suiton: Sensatsu Suisho!" (Water Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death) As she did, the water from Zabuza's clones rose up and formed needles that surrounded Naruto and Sasuke before launching themselves at the two at high speeds. Both boys channeled chakra to their legs to dodge and managed to get away without a hit as Haku merely stood up straight and looked them both over. "What's wrong? I thought I couldn't fight both of you at once?"

* * *

><p>"You sure we need to do this?"<p>

"Gato doesn't think Zabuza can do it, plus he plans on taking him out afterwards anyways. This is just a little extra insurance incase the guy actually does lose again." Two thugs spoke as they were walking up to Tazuna's home. They didn't bother trying to knock or anything but rather just kicked the door in and walked inside. Tsunami was in the kitchen making lunch for herself and Inari when the door went down and froze, terrified of what they were there for. "That her?"

"Yep. Listen here lady, you're coming with us by order of Gato." Before either man could make a move though they all turned when Inari walked into the room rubbing his eyes.

"What's all the noise kaa-…?" The words died in his throat as he saw the thugs staring at him.

"Do we need both of them?"

"Nope."

"Good, I wanted someone to test my new sword on." Both men smirked as one walked over and was about to draw his sword to kill the boy when Tsunami shouted at them.

"Touch him and I'll bite my tongue off! He's just a little boy, leave him out of this!" Both men scoffed at her when one came up and grabbed her.

"You're lucky kid. You can thank mommy for saving you're worthless life."

"Or he can cover his eyes, because he won't want to see this." Both men froze before the one near Tsunami found his hand ripped off her and stabbed with a kunai, a Naruto clone standing in front of him and glaring at him. Before the man could react Naruto struck him in the head with another kunai killing him as his partner growled at him.

"You little shit! You think I'm going to let you get away with that?" Before he could make a move though he was gripped from behind and had his head violently twisted, breaking his neck. The Naruto clone behind him merely looked down at his body with a cold glare.

"I hate killing, but you bastards just couldn't leave well enough alone could you?" He muttered before turning to see Tsunami hugging Inari close. "Do the two of you know of any other safe places you could go until all this is over? If they came here then that means that Zabuza is attacking at the bridge." When Tsunami nodded he sighed. "Good, we'll escort you there before dispelling. Boss is gonna need every bit of chakra he can get to fight."

* * *

><p>"Damn. You okay Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he stopped moving. Sasuke was right behind him panting but otherwise okay so he nodded his head in reply. After Haku had revealed she could use one-handed signs, the fight had taken a small turn for the worse. Small in that, Haku knew Sasuke was weaker than Naruto and started targeting him so that he would have to devote his energy towards protecting him rather than blowing the fake hunter away. After a particularly close call with another water needle attack, Haku activated a jutsu that surrounded them in a dome of ice mirrors, showing that the boy had a kekkei genkai. He then entered the mirrors and was now too fast for Sasuke to see and Naruto was having difficulties keeping up himself. Especially since the girl continued to focus mainly on Sasuke. "If there was ever a time for you to get your eyes, now is it!" Naruto growled as he looked from mirror to mirror trying to find where Haku would strike from next. Since her image was reflected in all of them though, he was only making it so that he had the slightest of warnings of when she would attack.<p>

"Just stop protecting him and I'm sure you could stand against me Kurai Kitsune. He seems to be nothing but dead weight to you anyways." Haku taunted. She sounded confident but on the inside she was cursing her luck and barely holding out. While Naruto couldn't reach her since he was too busy protecting Sasuke, he had been tossing kunai in her direction and getting extremely close. The boy was used to high speed combat, and if he could divert his full focus to her she would've already lost and she damn well knew it.

"Dead weight? I'm an Uchiha! I'm the best there is!" Sasuke shouted as he ran through hand-signs for a jutsu. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" He shouted as he launched a fireball at one of the mirrors. However he was shocked to see that the mirror hadn't melted in the slightest.

"These mirrors are made from my bloodline, the Hyoton. (Ice Release) They're reinforced by my chakra so that they can withstand fire. A weak jutsu such as that wouldn't be able to harm them." Haku explained as she readied senbon in both hands and even raised them up to make a showing of it. "As I said, dead weight." She taunted again before needles were launched out at high speeds from every direction. Sasuke didn't even get to see what happened before Naruto shoved him to the ground and started deflecting them with a kunai in his right and his gauntlet with his left.

"Sasuke, what did I tell you? A name means shit if you can't back it up! And right now, you can't so don't fall for her taunts and get sloppy damn it!" Naruto shouted as he blocked the last needle. Sasuke stood up scowling but didn't say anything. Naruto was the only reason he wasn't beaten yet and he hated it. But he still couldn't handle any shots to his pride like being called dead weight, that's why he reacted so poorly. "The only other fire jutsu you know is that multi one from a week ago right? Meaning that one you just shot was your strongest right?" Naruto asked and Sasuke nodded. "Alright then, I think I have a plan. Launch another one, but this time; aim at me."

"What? Why would I shoot at you?" Sasuke asked in shock. Secretly he would love nothing more than to beat the boy for all the hell he had already put him through, but he recognized that that could happen later. Right now they had to work together.

"My Hitsume is about as strong as your Gokakyu but if that couldn't do it then I know mine won't either. I have a couple other fire jutsu but none of them would work in this situation. That's why I'm going to use the full power of my gauntlet." Naruto explained though Sasuke was still lost. "Listen, I'm honestly a wind element. Meaning fire jutsu are extremely hard for me and will always be my weakest jutsu. The Kiba no Makai was a gift and it helps me get around that since just by channeling chakra into it I can create and manipulate fire. If you launched a full power fireball at me I could then use my gauntlet to enhance its power and redirect it to the mirrors." Seeing his plan Sasuke nodded and was about to gather the chakra for the attack when another barrage of needles flew out. Sasuke brought out a couple kunai and stood back to back with Naruto as they began deflecting them.

"If you believe I'll just let you use an attack that has you so confident, then you're sorely mistaken. Zabuza-sama ordered me to take care of the two of you, and I will not fail."

* * *

><p>"Tch, another <span>Mizu Bunshin<span>. When are you going to stop copying my moves and actually fight Kakashi?" Zabuza called out as he cut through another clone in the mist he had created. The two had started up shortly after Haku trapped his two students in his ice mirrors and had mostly been attacking clones of the other as they tried to catch them off guard. Zabuza would attack what seemed to be the real Kakashi just for him to substitute with a water clone at the very last second and then retaliate just for Zabuza to do the exact same. The Kiri nin hefted up his broadsword on his shoulder as he had his eyes closed and went about locating his foe through hearing. This was what he felt was a mistake in the first battle; he tried to go against Kakashi's Sharingan head on. A retarded strategy even if the man wasn't a true-blooded Uchiha. You never go against those eyes straight on unless you know you're vastly superior. Kakashi was S-ranked and he was A, even without the eye charging head on was a stupid idea. Kakashi used to be A-ranked like himself. However after the incident that spawned the Kurai Kitsune he apparently had upped his own training and soon pushed through the boundaries of the top level, joining the few legends in their world as an S-ranked threat. Zabuza though, had not believed the hype and ended up paying for it in their first fight. Now he knew better, and still he knew he was only holding out because his stealth was better and because the man couldn't see through his mist. If he lost either advantage then he was most likely done for, especially since he was using a crappy sword and not his Kubikiri.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" Kakashi shouted as multiple small fireballs flew out of the mist at Zabuza. Rolling out of the way Zabuza used a Shunshin to get near Kakashi and swung his sword down. Rather than cut through a clone this time though, he was parried by a kunai. "You know, if you still had your real sword I might not have tried this Zabuza." It was then Kakashi noticed due to their close proximity that the man had both of his eyes closed. "Oh? You've been fighting based on hearing alone? That's pretty good."

"Spare me the compliments. If I opened my eyes you'd catch me in a genjutsu and that would be the end of it."

"True, but not all genjutsu are sight oriented you know." He replied getting the man to gasp and jump back as Kakashi whistled. Thinking he might've been caught Zabuza froze and went to pulse his chakra for a release when he was bit down hard on all his limbs by various dogs, all with vests and Konoha headbands on.

"What the? What kind of genjutsu is this?" Zabuza shouted out as he opened his eyes to see the dogs holding him in place. Kakashi just chuckled getting the man to look at him.

"Not a genjutsu, I lied. I summoned those dogs during our little game of hide-and-seek in the mist quietly. They've been waiting for the opportune moment to pounce this entire time."

"But how could they track me when they couldn't see me?" Kakashi just flicked at his nose making Zabuza feel stupid that he didn't notice it.

"When you're eyes don't work, just follow your nose. These are my specially trained ninja hounds, only an Inuzuka hound could possibly match them. It's over for you Zabuza."

* * *

><p>"Damn it! We need an opening!" Naruto shouted as he deflected more needles away from him and Sasuke. Things were starting to get out of hand. Haku had been upping her needle barrage with each passing run and Naruto was starting to lag behind. He and Sasuke had a plan they were sure they could use to win but couldn't get the opening to use it. While Naruto was sure he could simply outlast anything the fake hunter tried, he was confident that Sasuke couldn't and could possibly die. Despite his dislike of the Uchiha, it was something Naruto would never allow to happen. "I can't keep guarding you like this. Not when she's upping her speed to levels that would take me going all out."<p>

"You've been holding back?" Sasuke asked incredulously as he pulled a senbon out of his arm. This bit of information really got on the boy's nerves because if Naruto had been holding back, then why didn't he stop and simply destroy his opponent?

"My full power can't be used when allies are nearby. It's too destructive and I don't have that much control over it. You might get killed in the backlash." So that was why. Well Sasuke was torn between hating how Naruto seemed to be casually dismissing his strength and slight happiness at how he refused to risk harming his teammate. Seeing Haku ready another attack, he shoved the thoughts to the side and focused on keeping himself safe so that Naruto wouldn't have to.

'_Come on focus! I'm not going to rely on Naruto to protect me! I can do this. I just need to see her and then I can counter.'_ Sasuke thought as he kept his eyes focused on the mirrors. With a slight twitch the senbon started flying and while Naruto was deflecting them with ease, Sasuke was barely holding them back and even saw the blond blocking a few that were coming a his blind spots. _'Come on focus!'_ He kept straining his eyes as he blocked more of Haku's attack as he slowly came to see a small shadow moving from mirror to mirror. _'Focus…'_ The next barrage came and Sasuke was staring to do a little better as the shadow seemed to gain a human shape. _'Almost…'_ Sasuke suddenly tossed his kunai at one of the mirrors as the needles stopped, just as the shadow seemed to jump into it. Naruto smirked over at his comrade as the raven haired boy pulled out another kunai.

"Finally starting to see things, aren't you?" Sasuke just smirked back at him. Haku however was having different thoughts.

'_He's starting to catch onto me like the other one. I need to end this now before it's too late.'_ Preparing more senbon in between her fingers for an assault Haku quickly leapt out of the mirrors and started launching pinpoint strikes at her enemies' nerves. However it was not to be as Naruto was still able to block every strike coming for him and Sasuke was able to as well, though with some effort. Again, just as Haku returned to her mirrors a kunai bounced off it. This time though it was far closer to actually hitting her and she knew it. Looking up at the boys she gasped at seeing Sasuke. "Your eyes…"

Sasuke looked confused as Naruto looked over and grinned. "Well well well… Someone finally caught up." Seeing Sasuke was still confused he pointed to the kunai in his hand so he could see his reflection. A grin matching Naruto's broke out upon seeing the red eyes with one tomoe in the left and two in the right.

"Sharingan." He whispered as he looked back up and smirked towards the blond as he got into a ready stance. "What d'ya say we use that plan of yours now?"

"I say it's about damn time!" Naruto shouted back as another barrage of needles came from the mirrors. Now that he had the Sharingan, Naruto didn't bother to protect Sasuke but rather deflected all the needles aimed at him. It wasn't needed anyways as Sasuke blocked them all himself before turning to Naruto and running through hand signs as fast as he could.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" He shouted as he launched a large fireball towards his teammate. Naruto grinned and charged chakra into the gauntlet on his fist before seemingly reaching out and grabbing the fire. With a large yell his chakra output spiked noticeably as he seemed to raise the fireball above his head, his eyes closed in focus with a bit of sweat rolling down his face.

"This is stronger than last time Sasuke. You really have improved. But now I'm gonna show you, just why I'm a B-rank ninja!" The fire in his hands flared before growing larger and turning a light blue as the flames intensified. Sasuke watched in awe as Haku was in her mirrors staring in shock. _'I can't let that hit me! I'll be finished!'_ She thought as she began to launch senbon at the blond as fast as she could. Sasuke saw and was about to move when Naruto shouted. "Duck! Now!" Sasuke hit the ground as Naruto spun around and began to swing the fire around himself, melting the senbon before they could hit. Even after the threat of the needles was gone he didn't stop but rather kept spinning, spreading the blue fire into a ring around himself. "Take this!" Naruto suddenly stopped spinning and pulled his gauntlet out of the fire before reaching back and punching the ring directly in front of him. The result was instant. The ring expanded and blasted all the mirrors, barely going over Sasuke's head as he felt the heat from the jutsu across his back. The mirrors when hit shattered on impact. Realizing she wouldn't be able to recover her technique Haku cut the chakra to it and leapt out of a shard only to see Naruto in her face before she could react. He quickly punched her in the stomach, getting her to fold over his face, before he delivered multiple punches to her chest and finished his barrage with a spinning kick to her face that sent her rolling along the ground.

"So strong…" Sasuke muttered as he stood up. He could easily see, especially now that he had his bloodline, Naruto was far more powerful than a genin. In fact, he'd say he should be a jonin with the strength he had. So why was he still at the lowest rank in the system? Why hadn't he been promoted yet? Sasuke watched as Naruto walked up to the false hunter before shaking his head and walking over himself. That was a problem for another time. "So what're we gonna do with her?" Naruto shrugged his shoulders before looking over to where they heard sounds of chirping birds. The mist began to clear and they saw Kakashi dash forward with a hand of lightning and stab Zabuza in the chest.

"Don't know, but for now we'll tie her up. With Zabuza gone, things should be simple now." Naruto said as he reached into his pouch and pulled out some metal wire and tied the girl up so that she couldn't move. That was when they heard the tapping, like wood hitting concrete. The pace was recognizable as a walking stick. Everyone turned to the noise to see a short man in a business suit walking up the unfinished side of the bridge.

"Oi Zabuza, I see you fucked up yet again huh?" He sneered before actually seeing Kakashi pull his hand out of Zabuza's chest. "Oh my, you truly did fuck up haven't you?" He mocked as Zabuza weakly turned his head to the man.

"Gato…" He muttered before facing Kakashi again. "Take… take care of… Haku for me."

"We'll try our best Zabuza." Kakashi promised as the Kiri nin closed his eyes and collapsed. Kakashi turned to face Gato as the mist finally cleared up showing that he had hundreds of bandits behind him, all looking at the ninja with grins and sneers.

"Ha, so much for the 'Demon of the Mist'. More like kitten. Now you, ninja! Stand aside and let me kill the bridge builder and you'll be allowed to live." Gato ordered. Kakashi calmly walked up to Sasuke and Naruto, seeing they had defeated and tied up their opponent before nodding.

"Good job you two." He said, clearly ignoring the business man, much to his irritation and rage. "How are your two on injuries and chakra?"

"I'm good sensei, you know why." Naruto muttered as he kept a cold glare on Gato and his thugs. Sasuke just shrugged.

"A little numb in my arms from the chicks senbon but otherwise I'm alright. Oh and I woke up my Sharingan too." He said as he smirked at the older man. Kakashi nodded and gave and eye smile.

"Congratulations Sasuke. When we get home, I'll help you out with that."

"HEY DON'T IGNORE ME!" Gato shouted, turning the Uchiha and Hatake's attention back to the short man. "I said move aside! Or do you want to die?"

"Tazuna's bridge is the hope for this country. We're not about to let you stop him. Today, you fall Gato." Kakashi calmly declared. Gato snarled before waving his arm forward to get the men to charge at the three.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique) With a large blast of smoke the bandits froze because when it cleared was an army of the blond boy all glaring at him the way the original was just a few seconds ago. Even Gato was scared stiff. "I'm gonna give all of you one chance." Naruto spoke. "Leave Gato and this country for good, or die here and now." The bandits barely took anytime to think as they started to run back to the ships they had to bring them there. A few even tripped over themselves and were slightly trampled before struggling to their feet and running away. Yet all of them had left Gato, gave him a wide birth in fact, as they ran. Said business man had fallen on his ass and was staring up at the army the boy had summoned in fear as the original calmly walked forward.

"Wait!" Gato cried out as the boy kept his slow walk forward. "I'll give you whatever you want! Money! Land! Women! Power! I'll give you anything! Just leave me be!" He cowered as Naruto stopped in front of him. He waited with baited breath before Naruto struck him hard in the head knocking him unconscious. He quickly tied the man up before dispelling his clones and walking back.

"You couldn't give me what I want." He muttered as he rejoined Sasuke and Kakashi. The elder merely nodded his head as Sasuke looked impassive at the display. Inwardly he was both awed and jealous. Mainly at how Naruto had made so many Kage Bunshin with such ease. He was also fully expecting the blond to just kill Gato and be done with it, but apparently Naruto had different plans. The three, plus two captives, calmly walked over to a seemingly empty portion of the bridge before the air seemed to shimmer and Tazuna and Sakura appeared.

"Good work keeping Tazuna hidden with your genjutsu Sakura." Kakashi complimented before facing said bridge builder. He had picked up the hunter and was holding her under his arm as Naruto had Gato over his shoulder. Sasuke merely had his hands in his pockets as he looked on impassively. "Tazuna, Nami's troubles are over. Naruto." HE told before turning to his student as the blond merely dropped the man at Tazuna's feet. The old drunk's face went wide with shock before he smiled back at the ninja.

"Thank you, for everything. You've saved our country." He bowed to them getting Sakura and Kakashi to look a little sheepish while Sasuke merely smirked. Naruto though had a look of detachment as he picked Gato back up.

"Let's just head back to the house. I'm tired from today and I just want to sleep." He muttered before walking away. Tazuna just looked at him as Kakashi sighed but started to follow with the rest walking up shortly after.

* * *

><p><strong>Omake<strong> – A True Team!

"Where is that guy? Seriously, I kinda figured yesterday was a one-time thing!" Koji shouted out as he was pacing back and forth with his arms crossed. Sakuya was leaning against a wooden stump in the training ground, catching up on some missed sleep as Naruto just sat nearby petting Kairi and watching Koji pace. "Ya think you or Sakuya could prank him again? Maybe get him to stop being late by it?"

"I don't think it'll work twice Koji. Plus, I don't want to waste possible supplies cause he said we gotta test." Naruto replied before Kairi barked. Koji turned around to see Kakashi walking up with an eye-smile and a wave.

"Hello."

"You're three hours late you fucking ass!" Koji shouted, waking Sakuya up from her sleep. She stretched for a second before standing with a yawn as Naruto also stood up, setting Koji's partner down for her to run back by him.

"Well you see, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around to ward off bad luck." All three children knew this was a lie somehow, but he continued as if nothing was wrong. "Now, for your test."

"What is it?" Sakuya asked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out two bells. He showed them the items before tying them to his waist.

"This is the test my sensei put me through, and his sensei before him. You have to do everything in your power to get a bell by midday. The one who doesn't get a bell, will be tied to the stump and go without lunch as well as be sent back to the academy." This got one to widen his eyes in fear of failing, one to narrow his eyes, and the final to simply looked confused.

"But there's only two bells. It's like you're purposely setting someone up to fail!" Sakuya stated and Kakashi nodded.

"I am, and your point is?" When none of them had an answer he looked from face to face and nodded. "Alright then, start!" He called out. In an instant Koji threw down a smoke bomb. When it cleared, all three were gone. "Huh, I kinda expected one to straight out attack me. Guess they know the purpose of hiding. Well, I'll give them five minutes before I actively search for them." He muttered to himself as he looked around.

* * *

><p>"Let me go Koji! I need a bell! I'm not going back to the Academy!" Naruto shouted before the older boy smacked him in the head and shushed him.<p>

"Something's not right with this test." He muttered as Sakuya nodded in agreement next to him. "My tou-san never said anything about a three man team. It's always three genin and a jonin. Always. So why would he purposely fail one of us? It doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, I mean, he can't do that can he? He has to either pass or fail all of us together, not only one." She added which is when Koji's eyes widened before he face palmed.

"Of course, together. Man I'm an idiot." He dropped his hand and grinned. "It's gotta be a test of teamwork. The bells are meant to drive us apart so we fail no matter what. But if we work together, than we can get them and prove we're ready to be ninja. I can't believe I didn't realize it. Teamwork is the first thing an Inuzuka is taught since we work with our ninken from young ages." Naruto looked confused as Sakuya nodded her head in agreement.

"But what if you're wrong? What if we get the bells but he still fails one of us?" Naruto asked the elder boy. Koji just shrugged.

"Then I'll give you my bell. I'm Rookie of the Year. Another semester at the Academy wouldn't hurt much." The blond seemed satisfied with this so he nodded as Koji started to think of a plan. He would suggest something and then Sakuya or Naruto would add their opinion. Both showed surprising ingenuity that Koji guessed was from their shared love of pranking before they all agreed on a final plan.

* * *

><p>"Okay, waiting time is up. Time for me to start hunting them." Kakashi muttered to himself as he walked out to the woods surrounding the clearing and looked around. He didn't make it very far before he activated a trip wire that launched kunai at him. Showing his skill as a jonin, he dodged each with ease. He even managed to catch one by the ring and swing it on his finger lazily. "You're gonna have to do better than that kids." He called out while walking before activating another trap. This time he chose to deflect the kunai, though he noticed a couple weren't even aiming at him but rather they shot past him and activated other traps that continued to launch more kunai at him. Since he was stuck defending he couldn't close his eyes fast enough when Sakuya jumped out and launched a few flash bombs directly at his face. As he was blinded he heard more kunai being thrown and dodged just to here something run past him, narrowly missing him as he used a <span>Shunshin<span> (Body Flicker) to get some distance. _'Okay, that was a good try. Was that all her or did the others help?'_

"We win sensei!" Naruto called out as he looked confused before looking down to see that the bells were gone. The three walked out with Koji smirking as he and a grinning Naruto held a bell with Sakuya smiling along with them.

"That… that was fast." Kakashi remarked before shaking his head. "I take it the kunai I dodged after the flash was aimed at the bells?"

"And the figure that almost hit you before you ran off was Kairi jumping for the bells. Had to make it convincing you know." Koji added on as Kakashi nodded. While he took it easy on them, he was still surprised to see that they had gotten the bells so quickly.

"Alright, that was a great plan. But now it seems that Sakuya will be going back to the Academy." Kakashi said, hoping to see if they actually knew the true purpose of the test.

"No she won't." He was surprised to see Koji toss her his bell. "We realized this is supposed to be a test of teamwork, but if you really wanna be an ass and fail one of us then I agreed to take the fall since I'm the one who brought us together and risked failing." He was then surprised to see half a bell thrown at him and turned to see Naruto had broken his bell in half.

"No way, I was gonna charge in like an idiot if not for you. Plus, sensei never said we needed a full bell. A broken one should work right?" He grinned as he held out his half towards their sensei who looked from face to face with a stern expression.

"Is that your final answer?" All three nodded so he smiled. "Congratulations, you all pass. Koji was right; it was a test on teamwork. And at the same time, Naruto came up with a way to pass all of you within the rules too. He's right; I never specified that the bells had to be whole." Said boy grinned as he rubbed the back of his head. "Alright you three, take the rest of the day off and meet back here tomorrow for training and missions. Ja ne!" He ordered as he disappeared in another Shunshin. As soon as he was gone Koji turned to his teammates with a grin.

"That was awesome. And thanks for the save attempt Chibi."

"I'm not a chibi!" They both laughed at his shouting about Koji's nickname for him before Sakuya walked up and knelt down.

"Hey calm down now. We're all a team so we've gotta get along right?" She asked with a slight smile getting the boy to grin and nod. "Good, so I'll see you tomorrow, Koji… Chibi-kun." She added at the end getting Koji to start laughing as Naruto started ranting and chasing after her as she laughed. Kakashi watched from the trees with a grin of his own. He was gonna like his team.

* * *

><p>A longer than regular chapter but I figured it would be best to make up for all the time I spent on other stories by giving out something bigger as an apology. Anyways, next chapter is the return to Konoha and a few small interactions before starting up the Chunin Exams, which I have almost fully planned out. A couple more Omakes will happen of time with Naruto's old team, including a very <em>youthful<em> encounter. Read, review and favorite please!


	7. 07

**HypnoticFlames:** I've been thinking about that. Like, after I get into the Shippuden years with this story just make an off-shot story of Naruto's time with his first team. Expand on the omakes a bit and add in some of their missions and such then cut it off right before Sasuke and Sakura are assigned to him and Kakashi. If I do that it won't be for a while though as I'm not just working on this story but I've got others and my real life to worry about as well so if it does happen, don't expect it until an earliest of 2012.

**Pyr00tje:** I actually have used a cliché, only one that I'm aware of but it's also one of the bigger ones out there and that is the whole 'Naruto was beaten by mobs' cliché. In canon all that was confirmed was that he was hated and either ignored or glared at his entire life. Him getting kicked out of stores wouldn't be that big of a stretch or they could have just ignored him and refused to serve him until he left dejected by it. But we never get anything about him getting beaten though; it's a cliché that's popular among fanfic writers because it builds Naruto up as a more 'noble' person from being kind and considerate even after such torture. I used it because it helps set him up in this story, but not all of my stories will or have used that idea.

As for how strong he'd be without the gauntlet, he'd still be pretty strong. He'd only lose his access to Katon jutsu and fire manipulation. Naruto is very skilled for his age in this story.

**Tristan76:** All of your very well thought out and well argued points for what happens to Haku will be torn down and destroyed this chapter.

**Everybody else:** You all want to see Hinata already don't you? Don't worry I have plans for her and she will appear soon. Not this chapter, either at the end of next or the chapter after. So just be patient, I promise she'll get her screen time soon.

* * *

><p><strong>07 –<strong> Past, Present and Future.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he walked down for breakfast. Sitting at the table was his sensei, teammate and Tazuna's family but not Naruto. "Is he guarding Tazuna?" Kakashi shook his head before pausing and shrugging.

"Well a clone is, but the real one is taking care of something."

"What?"

"Remember what he asked on the way here?" Kakashi asked as both Sasuke and Sakura thought back to the trip to Nami.

_"Hey sensei; would it be okay if I go visit after the mission but before we come back?" Sakura and Sasuke got confused looks as Kakashi looked up from his book as he thought about it._

_"I don't see why not. If there's no danger and we finish ahead of schedule then sure." He then went back to his book as Naruto was now staring ahead with what looked like a blank stare. But even Sakura could tell he was thinking about something._

_"Visit where?" She asked. Naruto opened his eyes a bit as he hadn't expected her to care. But then his expression softened a bit and he guessed he might as well answer._

_"My ancestral home. Uzushiogakure."_

"Oh, the ruins of his clan's old village?" Sakura asked getting the man to nod his head. Sasuke shrugged before getting himself some food. While he was curious as to what was there, he knew from personal experience that this was something Naruto wanted to do, or rather needed to do. He may not have known his family, as they were all dead before he was born, but he wanted to confirm his roots and likely pay his respects to his fallen ancestors. Sasuke was similar after Itachi killed his clan, only he wanted to confirm and forcefully remind himself of his goals. It's why he still lived on the empty compound even though the Hokage had offered him an apartment for free after the incident. It was something he had to do, and this was something he believed that Naruto felt he had to do. He wasn't going to bother him about it or ask any other questions either. With Gato captured and Zabuza dead, there weren't any threats so it wasn't like there'd be trouble for him.

"Anyways, for today I'm going to work on both of your physical conditioning. Sasuke, you need to get strong enough to use the Kubikiri. And Sakura, you need to be faster so that you won't get caught off guard in a fight. Since you're not going to be a frontline fighter, it would be best to work more on your speed than strength so that you can avoid danger and cast your genjutsu to aid your teammates." Both nodded there heads at his assessment, knowing he was right and that it would help them as they ate their meals. Training was something they'd have to do.

* * *

><p>"I still don't see why you brought her here kid." Tazuna commented as the Naruto clone watching over him had Haku sitting next to him. The girl had woken up shortly after they brought Gato into town and after finding out Zabuza was dead she was distraught and begging to be killed as well. Naruto had knocked her back out to get her to be quiet while they thought of something to do with her while the villagers were partying at how Gato was defeated. The man had been tied to a post in the center of town with baskets of rotten food placed all around for people to throw at him. Though at one point during the night when nobody was paying attention his throat had been slit and his heart had been carved out of his chest. While a gruesome sight, nobody was angry that it had happened. They seemed angrier they didn't get to watch or that someone had to clean up his bloody mess.<p>

"Until we leave or figure out something to do with her, Sensei said she was my responsibility since I was the one who spared her life." 'Naruto' replied. Haku had her hands bound with ninja wire so that she couldn't make hand-signs as well as having a chakra seal on her since they remember she could use one handed seals. That was something they wanted to ask her about.

"Then why didn't you bring her with the real you instead of leaving her here with your clone? And I still don't see why you wanted to see those ruins. If you're hoping to find something about your old clan, then you're out of luck. That place has been cleared out already." Tazuna replied and asked. 'Naruto' shrugged his shoulders before answering.

"Boss isn't going to the ruins because he wants to find something. Kaa-san came and cleared out all our clan stuff shortly after the news of its destruction was brought to Konoha. My clan stuff is already back home. Boss, he just wants to see his roots. As for why he didn't bring her with, well this was something he wanted to do on his own." Tazuna simply shrugged before getting back to work. Since Gato's defeat, he had no shortage of workers eager to work on the bridge so he wasn't going to ask the clone to make clones for him. He wasn't even sure if the clone could since he didn't know anything about ninja or their techniques. So he was fine with the blond clone watching from the side with the hunter that had tried to kill him sitting next to him.

"I still wish you would kill me Naruto-kun." Haku muttered out, though the clone heard her. 'Naruto' just rolled his eyes and sighed at her constant wishes for death. It was all she ever said now.

"I'm not going to kill you Haku, so quit asking for it. And neither is anybody else so stop begging for death."

"I've lost the only person to ever give me a purpose! To ever care I existed! And now that he's gone I have nothing left! Yet you insist on torturing me by making me live without him!" She shouted. She was frozen by a quick spike of killing intent that came from the clone and looked towards him to see he was staring at her with a blank look.

"Torturing you? To show mercy to an enemy is torture? To save a life is torture?" He asked. She stuttered over her words as she answered.

"Uh… n-no but I… I d-don't have any-anything left and-"

"So you need someone else in order to live? Are you that weak?" He cut her off getting her to freeze. "I thought you were strong. What happened to the kunoichi that held off me and Sasuke? During the fight you seemed like someone with a drive, are you telling me that you're so weak that without one man you can't live? Aren't you alive now?" He shouted causing Haku to flinch. She just looked down as he stared at her. "Listen, I know where you're coming from. Really, I do. I lost my old team, and they were the only people to ever make me happy. To ever make me feel wanted and needed. They saved me from my loneliness and helped me become strong. Yet even when they were killed in front of me, I never broke down asking for death."

"This is different! I loved him like a father!"

"And you think I wasn't close to my old team? I loved one like a brother! And I fell in love with the other!" He shouted. Haku snapped her head up to see he had a pained look on his face as he had his eyes closed in remembrance. "Inuzuka Koji… and Sakuya. Koji became the brother I never had. And Sakuya, she was perfect. I fell for her, but she died before I could tell her. Zabuza knew you cared for him, just as he cared for you. His last words were asking Kakashi-sensei to take care of you. What do you think he would feel to know you've fallen apart without him to the point that you're begging for death?" Haku flinched at how he pointed out that Zabuza wanted her to live.

"But what am I supposed to do?"

"…Find something new to live for or something. I don't know what else to tell you."

* * *

><p>"Uzushio… So this is where Kaa-san was born…" Naruto muttered to himself as he walked through the ruined village. Most of the buildings were collapsed or covered in vines and moss. Naruto was walking through the main street of the town towards what would've been the leader's home and office. The blond kept turning his head from side to side as he looked around and could see places that would've been filled with life. An old run down building with a large field containing a few training dummies turned out to be Uzushiogakure's academy. A few smaller buildings with broken or disabled seals lined along the walls was obviously their village archive, likely where his mother Kushina had grabbed most of the scrolls and books he had back home. As Naruto continued through the village ruins he came upon a large building that was mostly still intact. On the front was the Uzumaki swirl that doubled as the village symbol while in front of the building was a large pool with an everlasting whirlpool built into it. "Heh, I can just imagine what this place was like back in the day…" Naruto muttered to himself.<p>

If he was honest with himself, he didn't know what he was really doing there. He had anything of value back home since his mother had brought it all back after her own excursion to the ruins shortly after Konoha received news that the village was destroyed. He didn't have any attachment to the place either, as he was born and raised in Konoha his entire life. In fact, he had never even been to Nami no Kuni. He thought he would feel something coming to his mother's birthplace, but it seemed that without his mother or someone from the village to guide him through the ruins and tell him things about the village, it was nothing more than crumbled old buildings to him. And this was something he thought of as he sat down near the whirlpool and just watched the water swirl. He had no idea how long he was there but by the time he looked up the sun was starting to go down. "I guess I've been here a long time… Kakashi-sensei is probably worried about me."

"Not really. He trusts you Naruto." The blond jerked his head down from the sky to see Sakura walking towards him while looking at the ruins around her. He stood up and walked over as she stopped by the leader's office and stared at the red Uzu swirl. "He said you'd be fine but someone should come and at least let you know to come back soon. I volunteered because I'm a little curious about the ruins." She told him before turning to face him. "And you a bit." Naruto just chuckled.

"Don't you like Sasuke? What do you think he would say if you started chasing after someone else?" He teased getting her to blush and huff as she looked away.

"It's not like that. I'm just curious about my teammate, that's all. I mean, all we know about you is that you're really skilled, in the bingo book, lost your old team, and you had one of the worst childhoods I've ever heard of. Yet you still act with confidence and strength. You don't really smile or appear happy that often but yet you try to make sure others can be happy. And while you don't seem to like me or Sasuke-kun, you still go out of your way to push us to be stronger and protect us. You like some mysterious enigma Naruto, and both Sasuke-kun and I want to figure you out." She explained before facing him again to see that he had a small smile on his face as he looked at his clan symbol on the building.

"Thank you for that. It's not often people take an interest in me outside of my skills. But you should know, I'm not just going to tell you or Sasuke my secrets. The two of you have to earn that right."

"Well then what do we have to do? Just let us know and we'll make sure you know you can trust us Naruto. We're a team now aren't we?" She asked and he let out a slight chuckle as he started walking back towards Tazuna's home. She turned and followed when she heard him speak.

"Just keep getting stronger and bettering yourselves. I promise, if the two of you do that then I'll share some of my secrets with you. Now let's get back so we aren't late for dinner, Sakura." Sakura smiled as she followed the blond, happy to see she seemed to have earned some of his respect.

* * *

><p>"Well, we're heading home now." Everyone was gathered on the bridge as it was finally finished, meaning the ninja that had liberated them were going home. Tazuna and his family stood at the front of the crowd from Nami standing across from the three genin, jonin and prisoner. "Thanks for housing us Tazuna-san."<p>

"No, thank you for all that you've done for us. I promise you that as soon as we're back on our feet, we'll contact Konoha and pay what were supposed to and set up some trade agreements too." The bridge builder replied.

"Thank you, I'm sure Hokage-sama will be looking forward to it."

"Do you really have to leave now? Can't you stay for a little longer?" Inari asked as he looked them over. The crowd soon added their own cheers of much of the same talk in wanting them to stay.

"Sorry, but we've gotta get home. We've got things to do. Don't worry though, we'll try to come visit when we get time off." Naruto replied. Inari's eyes watered as Naruto simply gave him a smile. "Make sure you do your best to protect your loved ones, alright?" He told him before walking away. Sasuke smirked before turning to follow. Kakashi and Sakura both gave smiles as they walked off, the older pulling Haku along lightly by the shoulder. As they walked off, Tazuna grunted.

"Hey, you know, the bridge still needs a name." Everyone was quiet before Inari spoke up.

"How about Naruto?" People seemed to start chatting and agreeing as Tazuna smiled.

"Yeah, the Great Naruto Bridge, named after the boy who helped bring this country out of oppression. I like it."

* * *

><p>"So what will be done with me when we reach Konoha?" Haku asked as they were walking started on the path back to the village. Kakashi and Naruto shared a look before stopping, getting Sasuke and Sakura to stop as well. Naruto walked over to her and untied her hands, which got her and the two newer ninja to look on in shock.<p>

"That's really your choice Haku. You don't have to come to Konoha with us if you don't want to." Naruto told her. She rubbed her wrists slightly before looking to see the boy had started walking down the path again.

"But, aren't I your prisoner? Wouldn't Konoha want me for my bloodline?" She asked as she knew Konoha loved bloodline clans, unlike her homeland Kiri. Naruto shrugged as he stopped but didn't turn around.

"Kakashi-sensei said since I spared your life, you were my responsibility while we were still in Nami, but we're not in Nami anymore. You're free to go do as you please. You're a good person Haku, I'm sure you can find something to do with your life." Haku looked down as she still didn't know what to do and was fully expecting and prepared to be dragged back to Konoha for the Hokage to decide what was to be done with her. By now Sakura and Sasuke had come to know she wasn't actually bad or mean, she just followed the orders of someone who had far lower morals than most. They couldn't really fault her for that. In fact, Sakura had even spent some time with her and when she learned Haku was good with herbs, Sakura had asked her to teach her a bit. The two had become friends and Sakura was concerned for her new friend.

"Hey, Haku? What exactly was Zabuza's goal anyways? Why did he need the money Gato was offering?" She asked and Haku merely gave a slight smile.

"He wanted to fund a rebellion against the Mizukage." Well there went any thought of Zabuza being a good person. "The Yondaime Mizukage has been ordering the genocide of any families and clans with bloodlines, and even some that were normal but tried to help those with Kekkei Genkai. Kiri has become a bloody mess under his rule and Zabuza-sama wanted to try and build it back up into a respectable and powerful village." Never mind, it appeared that he seemed to have a good heart under his merciless killer persona after all. Hearing what the Mizukage was doing got both Sasuke and Naruto to repress the urge to growl and start cursing him out, though they let their animosity towards such a person show on their faces.

"Well then, why don't you try to do that for him?" Sakura suggested. Haku looked confused but Kakashi spoke up.

"You know, a couple years ago a woman came to Konoha asking for help in overthrowing the Mizukage. She apparently had two bloodlines and was leader of the current rebellion that's fighting off their Yondaime." Kakashi spoke out. He remembered this mainly because A: the woman was easily the most beautiful he had ever seen and B: Naruto and him had been returning from a mission and overheard the end of their conversation about it. "Hokage-sama had to turn her down since we didn't have the resources at the time to help out but they should still be around. I'm sure with your bloodline; they'd be more than willing to accept you into their group to help. Plus when you tell them you were trained by Zabuza Momochi, that may give you some sway in their ranks as well." Haku stared at him for a bit before looking from face to face and nodding her head.

"Thank you for telling me of this, and for giving me the chance to accomplish my master's dream. Should we ever meet again, know that I consider all of you friends and will do whatever I can to help you."

"Don't worry about it, just live your life to the fullest." Naruto replied with a small smile before turning and walking off. Sasuke just gave a curt nod before following as Sakura shook her hand and headed out as well. Kakashi patted her on the shoulder with a smile before handing her a folded piece of paper.

"A map, so that you can find your way around. We hope to see you again sometime Haku." He then started walking after his students as Haku looked at the map and then the Konoha ninja with a smile. _'Thank you, so much.'_ She thought before heading off in her own direction.

* * *

><p>"Reporting back with a successful mission Hokage-sama." Kakashi spoke as he stood in front of the aged man with his genin in front of him. They had made it back to the village later in the day after leaving Haku since they took to the trees to be faster. After checking in at the gate the simply came to the Hokage's office to report on their mission and see if there was anything they needed to be alerted about. Sarutobi Hiruzen gave them a stern look before raising his gaze to Kakashi.<p>

"You took longer than expected. Any reason why?" And with that Kakashi went into a verbal report on the entire mission; from their encounter with the demon brothers all the way to letting Haku go after leaving the bridge. Throughout his talk the Hokage would glance at the genin when they were mentioned. Unsurprisingly, Sasuke had smirked when Kakashi mention the boy awoke his bloodline and Sakura gave a smile when he mentioned how with her perfect control had managed tree-climbing in one go and learned a genjutsu from him easily. Naruto's face merely stayed a cold blank mask though his eye twitched very slightly at the mention of Haku. Had the Hokage not been watching him at the time he likely would've never known it happened. "I see. You will be paid for an A-rank mission for this. I'm also giving you all the week off to recover and rest from such an ordeal. New genin should not be exposed to such situations, even with an S and B rank ninja on your side." They all nodded in agreement before Sarutobi gave a kind smile. "I'm proud of the way you handled yourselves Sasuke, Sakura. You did very well for your first time out in the field." They both gave small smiles (well a smirk in Sasuke's case) as he turned to Kakashi. "Is there anything else?"

"Naruto managed to take Zabuza's blade, Kubikiribocho, from him in the fight and after deciding he didn't need it, offered it to Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke accepted so he'll be starting some strength training to use it. Other than that, nothing comes to mind."

"Well then, I hope you train hard with your new weapon Sasuke. You three may leave, I need to speak with Kakashi about something." The genin nodded and left leaving their sensei and the Hokage alone. "What of Naruto?"

"While he still has a few problems with them, he is opening up and beginning to trust them. I think this is probably the happiest I've seen him since they died."

"The exams are coming up in a few weeks. Do you think they would be ready in time?" Hiruzen asked. Kakashi was silent as he seemed to be in deep thought before shrugging his shoulders. "You know once the council learns Sasuke not only awakened his eyes but also now has a legendary blade, they'll be pushing to have him in the exams as a show of strength. It would be far less paperwork and headaches if they didn't but you know what'll happen. I can't declare this mission confidential since nothing happened that would require it."

"I'll try to get Sakura and Sasuke up to that level as quickly as I can. But I'm more worried about what Naruto's response will be if I offer them the chance."

"They are in Konoha this time, the risks aren't as great and this honestly would be the best time to do so without waiting for the next time we host them." The Hokage pointed out. Kakashi nodded his head in agreement but still had something to say about it.

"He still may not take it kindly."

* * *

><p>Naruto walked into his apartment with a small scowl as he took off his jacket and laid it over his couch before heading into his kitchen area to make something to eat. The place still looked as nice as he left it, all thanks to the security and self-cleaning seals he had placed all over the place. Ever since he received his inheritance he had delved into the obscure art his clan was known for and was now second only to Jiraiya of the Sannin in the art. Break ins were common, even after becoming a ninja. Even after becoming the Kurai Kitsune, people still did so. So he set up seals that would harm anybody that he didn't code as 'safe' which was currently only himself, Kakashi, Hokage-jiji, and Jiraiya. The self-cleaning seals were something his mother apparently invented since she hated to clean but still wanted an immaculate house to live in. The best part about them was that he just had to pump in a lot of chakra once a month to keep them and his security seals working.<p>

As Naruto grabbed the sandwich he made he walked over to a bookshelf he had filled with scrolls and pulled down a red one before sitting on his couch. He unraveled the scroll and pushed a little chakra into the seal matrix inscribed on it making a large white book appear in a puff of smoke. Just as he was about to open it up a knock sounded at his door. With a sigh he set the book down and took a bite of his food as he walked over and opened it up. "Sasuke, what're you doing here?" He asked, partially wondering how the boy even knew where he lived. He hadn't told him or Sakura and as far as he knew Kakashi hadn't either. So how did he know where he lived?

"I wanted to ask you something. I also came here to get my new sword since you still have the scroll you sealed it in." Naruto gave him a sheepish grin before walking inside with Sasuke following him and looking around. One thing he noticed was that most of the walls were filled with pictures. Most were of himself with either Kakashi, a boy with brown hair and red triangles on his cheeks, or a girl with purple hair and dark colored eyes. Some were group photos others were just of the other people without him. He noticed with a smirk Naruto seemed to be dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit in quite a few of them and seemed to be younger, giving Sasuke a clue as to when these were taken. While Naruto looked through his jacket for the proper scroll, Sasuke just looked through the pictures, stopping at one that had the entire group. Kakashi was standing behind the three with one of his 'eye-smiles', the older boy was standing in front of him with a small brown dog on his head as Naruto was to his left grinning with his eyes squinted into slits and the girl had a smile on her face as she stood to the right. When Naruto turned around with the scroll and saw what Sasuke was looking at his face seemed to drop a bit.

"That's my old team." Sasuke turned around to see Naruto holding out the scroll with his face focused on the picture, a longing look on his face. "The Rookie of the Year, Inuzuka Koji and his ninken Kairi. The top Kunoichi, an orphan named Sakuya. And then the early graduate that happened to still be the dobe, me. Back then I was pretty much an idiot that would scream I was going to be Hokage and would charge in without a plan or any skills. It's a miracle I didn't die on my first mission." Sasuke took the scroll as he glanced to the other pictures and then noticed something about a few of the later ones where they all seemed a little older.

"Hey, why does the other guy have your gauntlet?" He asked pointing to one where Koji was holding up his left hand with the gauntlet on as Naruto was grinning beside him holding Kairi in his arms.

"Remember when I said this was a gift? The Kiba no Makai was originally his. He gave it to me for my eleventh birthday since I didn't have any elemental jutsu or distance attacks at the time. All I had back then was my Kage Bunshin and he had his clan techniques plus a few Katon jutsu to use." Naruto explained before shaking his head to clear the memories out and turned to Sasuke. "So, you said you wanted to ask me something?" Sasuke looked at the picture for a moment longer before turning to him.

"Yeah, after you left Sakura and I decided we were going to train a bit during our week off. Sakura was going to go ask Kakashi-sensei for more help with genjutsu and stuff and I figured you could help me with this." He said as he gestured with the scroll holding his new sword. Then after the week was up and we all got back together I'd ask Kakashi for help with my Sharingan and Sakura would likely ask you for something. You've proven you know a lot and you want us to get stronger so we figured you'd be willing to help us." Inwardly Sasuke didn't like that he had to ask for help, wanting to just demand it because of his Uchiha heritage, but he knew Naruto would flat out refuse him if he did so. He also respected Naruto's strength and wanted to reach that level as soon as possible so he'd be closer to his goal of killing Itachi. If that meant swallowing his pride and asking for help then he'd do it.

Naruto just thought about it for a second before shrugging his shoulders. "I guess I've got nothing better to do. I'll meet you at the training grounds tomorrow at ten, ok?" Sasuke smirked and nodded. "Alright then, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you later Naruto." As he left and closed the door Naruto remembered a question he had.

"Damn I forgot to ask how he knew where I lived." With a sigh he sat back down at his couch and grabbed the book again. "I'll just ask him tomorrow I guess."

* * *

><p><strong>Omake<strong> – A Youthful Encounter

D-ranks were easily the most annoying and irritating things in a shinobi's existence. That was the unspoken agreement between all three genin as they walked away from the Hokage Tower after returning the cat they had to catch. Naruto's cheeks looked like tic-tac-toe grids due to the scratches the furry devil had inflicted. Koji was grumbling with Kairi growling lowly on his head; it was a cat and they were from the Inuzuka, what else was expected? Sakuya, while she was angry and annoyed at the D-ranks, was silently laughing at her teammates for their misfortunes. Kakashi on the other hand was leading them to the training grounds they were assigned for some training. Inwardly he was very proud of his team, not that he let them know too much of it.

They had a good grasp on teamwork already, not very surprising with an Inuzuka on the team. Each also had their own skills that they flourished in as well. Koji had his clan techniques to use, Sakuya was also a good close range fighter and seemed to have a knack for being able to tell a persons' general thoughts or feelings just by their expression, and Naruto was very good at making traps and seemed to be inexhaustible. Perhaps he could teach the blonde a couple good ninjutsu to go with that energy, and maybe give Sakuya a few books on muscle reading so she could hone that already impressive level she had on instinct. She's likely make one hell of an interrogator if she ever wanted to get off the frontlines and cultivate that skill of hers. The only reason he still got away with it so easily was because he had his face almost completely covered, otherwise he'd have to start using the 'blank mask' all jonin develop. As for the jutsu he could teach Naruto; it would have to be something that didn't really need control and could also be versatile enough to fix the large gap in his lack of combat skills. 'Hmm… Maybe the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu since both Sakuya and Koji are helping him out with that taijutsu of his. With his reserves it shouldn't be a problem. But that's for later.' He thought as they arrived at the field.

"Alright team, since we've been together for a good two weeks and you already have a solid grasp on teamwork and can cover each others flaws mostly, I think I should start you on the next step in chakra control." Koji nodded as Sakuya just looked expectant. Naruto though tilted his head to the side and asked a question.

"Why is that important?" Koji and Sakuya repressed a sigh at that. Both kept forgetting that even though he graduated early, he had barely done so. As such he knew the bare basics that were required and nothing more. A fun kid and enthusiastic shinobi, but dumber than a sack of bricks.

"Well Naruto, chakra control is important because it helps you cast your jutsu better and more efficiently. It also opens the doors to various other techniques later on in your careers. Plus this exercise becomes a valuable skill that all shinobi can do without thinking. Watch." Kakashi then walked over to a tree and without stopping walked straight up it and then stood upside down on a branch, looking down on them. "I'm currently channeling chakra to my feet to stick to the tree. The feet are the hardest point to channel chakra to in the human body so by learning to do this, in theory you can learn any jutsu with practice. Now I want you three to try. Use a running start since you're still beginners at this." The three genin nodded and started running up nearby trees. Or trying to at least. Koji made it six steps before flipping off as the wood splintered under his feet, Sakuya mad ten before her grip seemed to slip and she fell though she managed to spring off her hands to avoid injury. Naruto though only made it three steps before falling on his head. "Just keep practicing. Too much chakra and you break your hold like Koji did. Too little and you fall off like Naruto and Sakuya." Kakashi pointed out as they got ready to go again.

A couple hours later Kakashi was pleased with his team. Sakuya was now running up and down the tree with ease as she had figured out the proper amount of chakra and was merely building up her reserves and stamina, which while bigger than the average girls, were still the smallest on the team. Koji was getting closer to the top but had yet to actually reach it while Naruto was about halfway there himself. Kairi had even taken a few runs just to see if a dog could do it and surprisingly had gotten it down in three runs. Kakashi joked that apparently the dog was a better ninja than the three of them and after each sent a small glare at said pup (causing her to bark madly at Kakashi for making her a target) they each had gone back to running with renewed vigor. It was getting close to sunset though when something felt wrong with Kakashi's senses. In a second he had recognized what and replaced himself. Good thing he had too.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

Flying into the clearing, destroying the log in his way, was a man with a black bowl cut, green spandex, orange leg warmers and a jonin vest. He landed from his kick and all three children, and one dog, stopped to look at him and they all froze at the sight of his eyebrows, which were easily far thicker than anything they'd ever seen. The man ignored them and looked around for a moment before calling out in a very loud and boisterous voice, "Kakashi! My eternal rival! Where are you?"

"Gai, what are you doing here?" Came the calm reply as Kakashi walked up from the side of his students. The now identified 'Gai' merely threw him a thumbs up and dazzling smile (Was there a ping when that happened?) and continued on without realizing the kids were there.

"Aha! There you are my eternal rival. I have sought you out once more for a challenge to test our flames of youth!" Normally, Kakashi would either make up some excuse or just do it and get it over with, but this time he felt he had a valid reason and could possibly use this to avoid more of Gai's challenges in the future. The eccentric jonin was a good friend, but his constant challenges did get on his nerves after a while.

"Sorry Gai but I'm busy training my genin." He said as he gestured to the three, still shocked, students. Gai turned to them for a moment before his face seemed to light up.

"Ah, my most sincere apologies for not noticing you sooner young ones! My name is Maito Gai, and I am the premier taijutsu expert in the village. It's a pleasure to meet you!" He introduced himself with another thumbs up and smile (Seriously where was that pinging coming from?) as they nodded their understanding.

"Inuzuka Koji, that's Kairi." He introduced himself before pointing at his ninken. "Sakuya," He then gestured to the only human girl on the team. "And Uzumaki Naruto." He finished as he pointed at the youngest on their squad. Gai nodded to the three before turning back to Kakashi.

"I didn't know you had taken on a team my rival, but I'll accept that challenge!"

"Wai-what?" Kakashi sputtered out as he was honestly not expecting that response. Gai however didn't seem to hear him as he was then lost in his own world.

"Yosh! I shall take on a team of my own from the next graduating class and shall train them up to be the best in the village and surpass yours! And if I cannot do that then I shall run around Konoha five hundred times with ten tons on my back! And if I cannot do that-" Gai continued his ranting, never noticing that Kakashi had grabbed his genin and silently led them away. As soon as they were a good distance away Kakashi gave a slight glance back to the training ground they had just left.

"Dear Kami-sama, what have I just unleashed? Uh, listen you three, if you ever meet a team of genin that claim that man as a sensei; I want you to apologize to them for me. I had no idea or intention of releasing Gai on them." Kakashi told the three, who were still stunned into wide eyed looks back at the trees they left behind. They just nodded their agreement as Kakashi walked the three away, claiming their training was done for the day.

* * *

><p>And there you have another chapter. And my take on why Gai wanted a team in the first place when he seemed so obsessed with challenging Kakashi all the time. So you see, Naruto's old squad unknowingly helped Kakashi unleash Gai on Neji, Tenten, and Lee. Mentally scarring two and forever warping the mind of the third. May they beg for forgivenss from them. T-T<p>

Next chapter will have a bit of training before starting the Chunin Exams. For those begging for Hinata, she might appear at the end of the next chapter. If not then she'll be in the one after without fail. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Read and review!


	8. 08

Grrr… Damn it. I had this chapter almost completely finished and then some asshole steals my bag that held my USB drive along with my DS, DS games and a couple of my PSP games. Over $200 worth of stuff all taken the one second I set it down. I hope the fucker burns in hell.

So anyways, that's why this chapter has taken longer. I literally would have had it out December 3rd had this not happened. But instead I had to re-type the entire thing along with finishing it up. But enough about my problems, you people want a story to read. So here. First my review responses like normal and then your new chapter to enjoy. On a side note I do believe this re-type to be better than the original version anyways.

**BladeDancer Of Ice:** Not next chapter but the chapter afterwards. I'm actually interrupting the Chunin Exams with an entire flashback arc to explain what happened to them. I hope you and everyone else enjoys it.

**Reevees:** As I put above, soon and not in Omakes. As for how he did it, you are thinking far too small.

**Pisces146:** Yes I admit the Chunin Exams are overdone, but they are a major plot point. There's only so many ways one can do them before having to scrap them and have original arcs but still. I am trying to make my exams as unique as I can but the first two tests will be the same, I'll admit that now.

**Hektols:** Is it realistic that Naruto would still be a good person after getting beaten for most of his childhood? No, he would either have killed himself or gone insane like Gaara as you pointed out. But at the same time does it work? Yes because if someone did stay sane through it then they would seem like a far better person than others would be. This is fanfiction and people don't have to be realistic if they don't want too. If stories with Naruto being mobbed annoy you then don't read them. Nobody's forcing you too so I'd very much like it if you didn't complain about nothing.

* * *

><p><strong>08 –<strong> Opening Trouble

_Three people ran into a cave as the rain poured down over the landscape. One had a thick jacket on and red triangles on his cheeks while another had on an orange jumpsuit. The only girl of the group had a brown cloak over her clothes. As they entered the cave a small dog popped out from the older boys' jacket. "Man I hate the rain. Why's it gotta rain now of all times?"_

"_Maybe the world just wants to piss you off Koji-nii." The boy just gave a mock glare at his orange clad and younger teammate._

"_Ha ha Chibi you're so hilarious." The girl shook her head to get any excess moisture out as she took off the hood to her cloak and sighed in a dramatic fashion._

"_Am I gonna have to split you two up?" Both just grinned at her._

"_Ah, cool it Sakuya. You know we're fine."_

"_Yeah Sakuya-chan! Me and Koji-nii wouldn't start fighting now. Not when we gotta be all focused and stuff." The girl just smiled at the two and nodded before they all turned to the boy with the dog._

"_So what's the plan Koji?"_

"_Well first we're going to need to-!" The three dashed out of the cave as an explosion went of in order to make sure they couldn't get caught in a cave in. It was then that the images started to blur together along with yelling._

"_Get out of here! Run!"_

"_Koji-nii!"_

"_Naruto-kun move!"_

"_Sakuya-chan! NO!"_

Naruto jerked awake as he clutched at his shirtless chest. He barely noticed he was breathing hard or that there was a cold sweat running down his form as the images in his mind had yet to leave him alone. Naruto swallowed down some air before getting out of his bed and walking down the hall to his bathroom. He turned the water on and let it run for a moment before splashing his face a few times and then staring at his reflection. This was the third time in the month he had been forced to relive what he considered his darkest day in his sleep. Most of the time he wouldn't even dream but a few times every month he'd find himself watching his old team die and would wake up drenched in sweat. Inoichi and Kakashi both said it happened to all of them at some point, just more often to those who had a particularly traumatic experience like he did. As Naruto stared at his reflection in the mirror its eyes seemed to close before its whiskers thickened and it opened its eyes back up to reveal red orbs with slits for pupils. **"Another nightmare, child?"**

"Kyuubi." Naruto muttered hatefully as he turned the water off. Since Naruto would block almost all attempts at normal conversation through thoughts or meditation, the demon had taken to trying unique ways to speak with him. And it was currently using its easiest and most frequent, speaking through his reflection. To most it would seem like the boy was crazy and talking to himself, but those who knew of his burden knew otherwise. He was simply speaking with the fox since this was a way Naruto found that he couldn't block. It did attribute to a small hate of mirrors though. "What do you want demon?"

"**Merely to see if my container is alright. That's the third time this month alone. How long are you going to torment yourself child?"** Kyuubi asked with a small smirk, though its deep voice seemed to hold some very small portion of genuine care.

"I didn't know you cared fox." Naruto shot back. His reflection shrugged in response.

"**Had I not been sealed in you and had I not watched you grow up, I likely wouldn't. But I am and I have so I do. Now how long are you going to torment yourself?"** It asked as Naruto merely closed his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about Kyuubi."

"**Do not attempt to lie to one that literally lives in your head child. You have yet to move on from the past, from your old team."**

"Shows what you know, I have gotten over them."

"**Lies!"** Kyuubi shot back with anger. Naruto opened his eyes to see his reflection glaring and baring his teeth at him. **"You torment yourself with constant thoughts of them and your nightmares are proof you have not moved on. You are such a hypocrite, always preaching of how others should look to the future and focus on what's ahead of them and yet you can't look past one moment over a year ago!"**

"Shut up." Naruto whispered out through his teeth that he was subconsciously gritting together as he knew the fox spoke the truth. Seeing Naruto's reaction Kyuubi calmed down and seemed to switch subjects.

"**Your new teammates… I do not like them."** Naruto eyed his reflection curiously as it seemed to shake its head before focusing back on Naruto**. "They lack the drive the other two had. They lack the skill the others possessed."**

"You don't know what you're talking about Kyuubi. They're improving fine."

"**I know more than you think child. One is driven to avenge his clan by killing his brother and the other is merely vying for the avengers' affections! Neither is a truly strong drive for a Shinobi. And they are slowly undoing you child."** Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kyuubi's declaration so the fox continued. **"You have begun to open up to these worms not even fit to clean your shoes. You held yourself back from the strong Shinobi you're meant to be back in Nami. You could've destroyed that masked ninja but instead you prolonged what could've been a three second battle had you committed yourself to killing like you're trained to do."**

"So because I'm starting to show mercy, I'm losing my touch? Maybe I'm just not as bloodthirsty as you fox." Naruto's reflection seemed to growl at the boy before Kyuubi responded.

"**You know what I'm getting at child! It's not the mercy that is undoing you but the hesitation in finishing the battle! Just look at yourself child you're actually beginning to consider these weaklings as your teammates! You're actually considering putting them in the spots the others held! What is happening to the Shinobi who has my respect? Where is he going?"** Kyuubi shouted at Naruto who looked down.

"Shut up fox. You don't know anything about what you're talking about."

"**I know perfectly well of what I speak child! You are dropping yourself to their level and if you do you will not be able to bring yourself back up. I can see it when you look at them, one will betray you the moment you give him the opening and the other will do so just to please the first!"**

"Shut up fox."

"**No! I am not going to let these two weaklings drag you down into mediocrity when you've become such a strong warrior. Stop your-!"** Kyuubi's ranting was cut off as Naruto punched the mirror, shattering it and sending shards down to the floor. Naruto sighed but turned the water back on and ran his now bloody hand under it to clean out the cuts before turning it off and staring at the now rapidly healing wounds.

"I said shut up. I know what I'm doing Kyuubi, and it's not of your business."

* * *

><p>Sasuke and Sakura were shocked that morning. Very, very shocked. Nearly scared to death in fact. Since Naruto had told them of their sensei's habits and they had actually shown on time a few times just to see if it was some combined prank and found it to be true, they stopped showing up on time. In fact, they now only showed an hour later, even though Kakashi was usually two to three late himself. They would before pass the time with Sasuke ignoring Sakura until Naruto showed up at which point she'd stop pestering the boy since he would attack her for it. Now though that both were training seriously and had some of Naruto's respect he had taken to showing up a little earlier and helping them through some small training until Kakashi showed up.<p>

This morning was different however. Kakashi told them show up at ten o'clock for training, missions, or whatever. So obviously they decided to come at eleven and expected Naruto ten to fifteen minutes later. What they found however was Kakashi standing there reading his book and being told that he had apparently been waiting all hour for them. After getting a couple chuckles off the two genin who had even gone so far to attempt a genjutsu release, he said he had something important to announce and just needed to wait for Naruto. When the blond walked out five minutes later though his eyes widened before he vanished in a Shunshin and was behind Kakashi with a kunai to his neck asking why someone was impersonating their sensei. After confirming his identity, Naruto apologized and the man cleared his throat.

"Okay, note to self; never show up on time again." He muttered getting an embarrassed look out of Naruto and Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes to twitch. "Alright you three, I have some news for you all today." He spoke to get their attention back on track. He then held out three slips of paper. "Seeing as how Sasuke and Sakura have improved so much, and Naruto is finally eligible because he's with a team, I've signed you three up for the Chunin Exams." Two confused glances were instantly sent to him while the third went blank. "For you two that don't know, the Chunin Exams are an international competition that is held once every six months. This time Konoha is hosting them. What they are is a series of tests that sensei sign their students up to participate in to both show off their village's strength and to give the genin the chance to be promoted to chunin. Naruto's been good enough for a good while but couldn't participate because they require a full team of three to enter. I feel that the two of you have improved enough that you're ready for the next level." Sasuke and Sakura now looked eager and proud respectively while Naruto's face was still blank. "Now, to take part you need to-"

"No…" Naruto muttered, interrupting Kakashi. He then turned a glare on his sensei which confused his teammates. "We're nowhere near ready for those exams! Do you want them to die?" Sasuke and Sakura were now wide eyed at hearing you could die in the exams while Kakashi sighed.

"Naruto, the exams you had before were a total fluke. Nobody saw that coming."

"As ninja we're supposed to be prepared for the unexpected! Despite having a year and a half to train; Koji, Sakuya and I weren't ready and they died to save me because of it!" If the two newer genin could have a more shocked expression, one would've been hard pressed to find it. Naruto took the exams before? And his old team died in them? "Koji and Sakuya were ten times better than Sasuke and Sakura were and we were nowhere near ready! I'm not going to these fucking things and that's final!" Naruto shouted before vanishing in a Shunshin. Kakashi sighed and rubbed his eye as the other two turned to their sensei.

"Sensei, did Naruto really lose his teammates in these exams?" Sakura asked, now afraid to enter the competition. Sasuke still wanted to enter but wasn't sure if he should now. He had come to care (somewhat) for Sakura and Naruto during training so he didn't want them to get hurt just because he wanted to prove himself, plus Naruto was still far stronger than him in just about everything, save for genjutsu which seemed to be Naruto's natural weakness. If Naruto was saying they weren't ready for them, and he had experience in them, then maybe he was right. And he couldn't risk dying anyways, not until it came time to challenge and kill Itachi.

"Yes Sakura, my old students died in the Exams. However don't let that discourage you. Those exams were far different and far more dangerous because they were in another village. They'll be safer here in Konoha and you won't die." Kakashi left out the fact that they still could as he was trying to build up their confidence for them. "Naruto is just scared and overreacting."

"Naruto, scared?" Sasuke asked incredulously. The boy hadn't shown fear when staring down Zabuza. Hadn't shown fear when fighting Haku. It had just become something the two had accepted; Naruto seemingly had no fear.

"Well not scared really, scared isn't the right word. Ever since he took the exams before and lost his team he's built them up in his mind as an impossible challenge that is only there for sensei's to kill off their students. He needs to face this and get over it if he's to ever move on with his life or his career. Shinobi face the supposedly impossible everyday and will continue to do so. If he won't go up against something he has a very good chance of passing easily simply because he thinks it's impossible, he'll never achieve his dreams." He then gave a serious look to his remaining students. "Don't let Naruto's words discourage you; you really are ready for these exams. I'll talk to Naruto and get him to show up. Just head to the Academy in a week at noon and turn those in at room three-o-one to enter." Kakashi then vanished in a Shunshin of his own to find his wayward student as Sasuke and Sakura were left to contemplate if they would enter or not.

* * *

><p>Naruto appeared in an alley in the village before he started walking out in a random direction, his thoughts more preoccupying. As usual, people generally gave him a wide birth. Civilians would either glare or look scared of him while shinobi would mostly give him looks of respect or fear because they knew what he went through. The shinobi that didn't know were mostly fear or hate, just like the civilians were. <em>'The Chunin Exams? What the fuck is sensei thinking? We're not ready for those, not by a long shot!'<em> Were his thoughts as he kept walking. He wasn't heading up to the Hokage Monument and he wasn't heading to Ichiraku's either. He was just walking around with no actual destination as he was lost in his thoughts. _'Couldn't see that coming. Ha! As if. More liked they _hoped_ it wouldn't happen just like they _hoped_ everyone would respect the Yondaime's last request. As soon as I learned the truth I saw it coming from miles away. But still, neither happened and Sakuya and Koji paid the price for me. These exams might not be there this time but they're still way to damn dangerous for rookies like Sasuke and Sakura. Those two may have improved but they haven't reached our old level yet so I wouldn't even think about signing them up. I don't care if they get pissed at me for holding them back but this is for their own good. I am not entering the exams.'_ Naruto was jerked out of his thoughts as a small boy with a helmet and scarf on ran past him and bumped into a boy wearing all black with face paint on. At his back was a large bandaged object and a little further behind him was a girl. She had on a battle kimono and had her blonde hair done up into four pigtails. Something Naruto noticed was that both had Suna headbands on them.

"Ow. Hey watch where you're going ya big jerk!" The boy yelled as he landed on his bottom. The older boy didn't take too kindly to his response as he grabbed the boy by his shirt and yanked him into the air and was dangling him at eye level with a small glare.

"What was that you little pipsqueak?"

"Kankuro, just let him go already. It was just an accident." The girl behind him sighed out, though she didn't seem to truly care that her companion was threatening a small child. The boy just smirked back at her in response.

"Don't worry Temari. I'm just gonna teach this punk some manners." He replied before a pulse of chakra got their attention. They both turned to see Naruto holding out his gauntlet with a small fireball of it and a cold look on his face.

"Drop the kid." He ordered. Temari merely looked interested in the situation while Kankuro smirked.

"Whatever kid, what are you gonna do? Run and cry to sensei?" Naruto smirked himself as the fireball got bigger.

"Maybe if I was some rookie sure. But I'm a listed B-rank ninja in the Bingo Book. I've got plenty of options to make you drop him." As he finished his threat he reached into his pocket and tossed the boy a small black book. Kankuro caught it with his free hand and gave it a small glance before tossing it over his shoulder and laughing.

"Yeah right kid. Like we'll believe that. There's no way your in the books when our brother isn't." He taunted before turning back to the boy he was holding. He was about to ignore Naruto's threat and punch him when his sister spoke up.

"Uh, Kankuro? He's telling the truth." Temari said as she got his attention. He turned around to see she had caught the book and flipped through it for some reason and was now holding it up for him to see a picture of the blonde. "He's the Kurai Kitsune, he's been in the book for over a year and really is B-rank." She pointed out which made Kankuro look back at Naruto in shock.

"So, are you going to drop the _Hokage's grandson_ or do I get to kill you for Suna trying to start a war?" Naruto threatened as he waved his fireball around. Kankuro quickly set the boy down, both at the threat and at the knowledge that it was the Hokage's grandson he was threatening as the girl merely chuckled at her brother and closed the book. The boy got up and ran behind Naruto, who had let the fireball die out, as Temari tossed him his Bingo Book back.

"Yeah, that's right! I'm untouchable you jerk!" He shouted right before Naruto smacked him in the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Apologize, now." He ordered.

"What? He started it! It's his fault!" The boy said, pointing at Kankuro. Said ninja was glaring at the kid but Naruto just shook his head.

"I was here the whole time. You ran into him and then blamed him for your stupidity. Had you apologized, I'm pretty sure none of this would've happened. So apologize, now." Naruto ordered once more. The boy merely crossed his arms and turned away with a superior scoff.

"Ha, I'm the Hokage's grandson. You can't make me do anything." He taunted, just for Naruto to hit him again. This time hard enough to make him fall over.

"It doesn't matter if you're the Hokage himself, you're going to apologize for the mess you caused right now." This time Naruto flashed a small amount of killer intent on the boy getting him to shudder and look at Naruto in fear.

"I'm sorry!" He cried out. Naruto then sighed and helped the boy up.

"Now was that so hard Konohamaru?" He lightly asked before stiffening. He took a moment to look around before settling on a nearby tree. "You can come out, I know you're there." Naruto called out, making the other three confused until a swirl of sand left the tree and appeared in front of the two Suna ninja. From it appeared a red headed boy around Naruto's age with the kanji for love on his forehead and a large gourd on his back.

"You sensed me. Who are you?" He asked in a deep voice. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he heard Kyuubi screaming in his head.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Pleasure to meet you, _Ichi_. And you are?" This made the boy smile madly as Kankuro and Temari now looked horrified for a few reasons. One; this boy somehow knew Gaara's, and technically Suna's, greatest secret. Two; the boy did not seem afraid of Gaara despite knowing this secret. Just how strong was he that he could be so calm knowing he was staring at a jinchuriki? And three; Gaara was smiling. Bad things happened when Gaara smiled. Usually involving lots and lots of blood and screaming.

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara. It's good to meet you as well, _Kyuu_." Hearing Gaara respond with a number made Temari and Kankuro even more frightened than they believed possible. Since Naruto had called Gaara _Ichi_, he knew about the Ichibi no Shukaku. Since Gaara had responded with a number as well, being _Kyuu_, Gaara was implying the boy was also a jinchuriki. And the only demon that would be called _Kyuu_ would be the ninth and strongest of them all, the Kyuubi no Yoko. This boy wasn't just a B-rank threat in the Bingo Book but jinchuriki to the strongest and most deadly of all the biju. Temari and Kankuro were now terrified to know if Naruto was as bloodthirsty as Gaara was.

"Well Gaara, you may want to keep an eye on your teammates so that they don't cause you to get kicked out before the Chunin Exams even start. I assume your going to be in them since you're here from a foreign village?" Naruto asked rhetorically. Gaara merely nodded as his siblings stood stiff behind him.

"I shall keep my siblings under control. Are you in the exams?" Gaara asked. Naruto was about to say no when Kakashi showed up next to him.

"Why yes he is. I signed him up and everything… Gaara was it? Don't worry, you can meet up with him again there if you like." Naruto kept his face impassive but inwardly was seething and screaming at his sensei who had on a cheerful look. Gaara's grin increased as he nodded once more.

"I see. I look forward to proving my existence against him. Kankuro, Temari, Baki wants us." He said with a cold look towards the other two before turning and walking away without another word. Naruto waited until the three were out of sight before turning on Kakashi.

"What the fuck sensei! I told you I'm not going so instead you paint a target on my back to force me in? What's your damn problem?"

"Naruto, that's enough!" Kakashi shouted, getting the boy to clam up immediately. Kakashi had only yelled when he was dead serious about something. In fact Naruto could count the times Kakashi had actually yelled at him on one hand, including now. Seeing that he had Naruto's attention he sighed and adopted his regular persona. "You need to move past this Naruto. These exams are something you need to face eventually and now is the best time for you to do so. Are you the one always talking about facing forward and not worrying about the past?" He asked, unknowingly mimicking Kyuubi's argument from earlier that day.

"Years we spent teaching a lesson, we ourselves have never learned." Naruto sighed out as Kakashi nodded. "I… I just don't think Sasuke and Sakura are ready. I don't want to have comrades die because of me again." Kakashi laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder and gave him a small smile.

"Then that's why you should be there to lead them in the right direction and carry them through the challenges." Naruto sighed but nodded. "Good. Go to the Academy in a week at noon and head to room three-o-one. Sasuke and Sakura will be there and together, the three of you can make it through the challenges you'll face." Naruto merely nodded before walking off to his apartment to prepare. Kakashi watched him leave before pulling out his copy of Icha Icha and walking off, leaving Konohamaru to still be stunned by the boy who apparently knew his name and heritage yet didn't treat him like a prince for it.

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><p><em>~One week later~<em>

"So you decided to come Naruto?" Sasuke asked as Naruto walked up to the Academy where he and Sakura were waiting. Sasuke was still wearing the same outfit with only a small difference in that his left arm warmer now had a storage seal concealed in it placed by Naruto so that he could bring out the Kubikiri at a moments hesitation. Sakura had added an extra hip pouch to her appearance, this one filled with medical supplies as she was learning some small treatments to supplement her budding genjutsu skills. The blonde merely gave a small grin to his teammates.

"Well someone has to make sure you two make it through these and since I'm senior member I guess it falls to me." He joked making the two grin and smile at him respectively. His demeanor then went serious. "These exams, they're no joke. You need to follow my lead on this and take them as seriously as you would a real mission. People have died and people will die, there's no escaping this. I'll do my best to make sure we avoid that but I need you two to listen to what I have to say when we're out there alright?" The two nodded their understanding so Naruto gave them one final warning. "The last thing you should know is that I ran into a competing team the other day. They're from Suna with a guy in black, a blonde girl and a red head our age. Trust me on this when I say we are going to avoid the red head at all costs. His name is Gaara and he is without a doubt one of the stronger competitors here, someone even I wouldn't want to face if it can be avoided."

"Why?" Sakura asked as she was curious as to what made this stranger so powerful and dangerous. Sasuke was once more torn between his desire to prove himself or listen to his teammate. If this Gaara kid was that strong then he would be an excellent test of his skills, just like the exam would. But if even Naruto would hesitate to fight him, then he may be just a bit too much at the moment. Eventually the stoic boy just nodded.

"We'll keep away from him if we can." Naruto nodded before turning to Sakura.

"It's not exactly my place to say but I'll just say that he's like me and leave it at that." Naruto told them before walking up the Academy with the two following, leaving them both wondering what he meant by 'like him'. Was Gaara in the Bingo Books as well? Or was he a shinobi for longer than they have been like Naruto was? Just how was Gaara like Naruto was the question on their minds.

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><p>No Omake this time, just the chapter. Next chapter will be the first test and part of the second. Hidden in this chapter is a line from a favorite song of mine. Your only clue is Naruto says it. See if you can find it and tell me what song it was from in the reviews.<p>

As always please review and favorite!


	9. 09

I have decided I'm going to focus on this story until the end of the Chunin Exams before going to finish up the next arc of my Souru Chixeen story and then Arc 2 of my Shinku Akuma story. In that order too, though I'll throw in a chapter of my Small Change fic, Naruto/Soul Eater crossover and Naruto/Fairy Tail crossover as well cause it's been a while for a couple of them and I want to make sure all my stories are updated. If you've gone to my profile you'd see that I've put up a small thing with a few previews of ideas I plan on starting eventually. In there I also mention that I'm going to be finishing up the mentioned arcs in my three main stories before doing any of them. So check that out if you want after reading this chapter. I'm hoping to have all this stuff finished up and the opening chapters of those three stories ready by my birthday so that I could open all three at once. I could technically do that anytime anyways, but I want it to be a sort of gift in celebration of my 21rst birthday.

Anyways, onto review responses.

**Leaf Ranger:** Yes Kakashi was an asshole last chapter, but that was needed. Kakashi may not really have any right telling Naruto to move on since he can't but at the same time at least Kakashi isn't letting his loss hold back his career. Naruto has had now three years to prove himself ready for a field promotion and has not so he would need to wow people at the Exams to be promoted. However Naruto is holding onto his loss and avoiding the exams because of it, holding himself back without even realizing it. Hence, Kakashi needed to force him into it by painting a new target on his back and pretty much ordering him to do it. Was he an asshole? Absolutely, but he means well.

**gamehead64:** What says my Naruto is a genius? He was never stated to be a genius. He was still the dobe and he has struggled and fought for the skill and ability he has now. Sure, he's super strong compared to the others that make up the canon Rookie nine, but he's not a genius. He's just had more time to gain strength than they have.

**Twilifay:** Write my own book? Sorry but no. I can write pretty well and can think up plenty of neat or interesting story points for my fanfics but I can't really do anything original. I've actually tried and got a few good heroes and villains thought up but I just couldn't get a plot or original world or anything else to work through it. So my writing is going to stay in the various worlds of fanfiction.

**KnightOfZaku:** Yes I will. After all Hinata was able to push herself to pass and keep being a ninja because Naruto inspired her. She didn't have that here so things would be different for her. But she'll still be the shy and kind hearted girl all Hina fans love.

**Iorddonen:** Don't worry, they're dead and buried and will not be somehow miraculously shown to have been alive the whole time. I mentioned earlier in chapter 06 during review responses that Koji and Sakuya, while well developed and well liked, were always meant to be killed off.

**Authors Note:** Yes, the line was from Drones by Rise Against. 'Years we spent teaching a lesson, we ourselves have never learned.' That's the second line in the song. Next time I'll try to conceal it better as a couple said it was way too easy. And one final thing for everybody; Hinata appears this chapter, so stop bugging me about her. Just don't expect much NaruHina interaction yet since this is in the Exam and there's not much time or options for any at this point.

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><p><strong>09 –<strong> A Nightmare Resurfaces

The three genin had entered the Academy and were walking up to the appropriate room when they came across something strange. There was a large group of people standing outside of a room being blocked off by two older looking genin. The sign above the door said '301' but to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura; something was quite obviously off. It was quickly realized as well, they were only on the second floor as they had only gone up one flight of stairs. Sasuke was about to call out to the genin to drop it when Naruto nudged him in the side and motioned for him to be quiet. Confused, Sasuke followed as Naruto led him and Sakura around the group and onwards to another staircase. As they passed the group they saw someone wearing green getting knocked down by one of the kids blocking the door. "Okay, why did you stop me from getting those wimps to drop the genjutsu?" Sasuke asked as they came up to another set of stairs. Naruto shook his head.

"I thought it would be obvious, to keep out the real wimps. That genjutsu was there as a pre-test of sorts. If they can't see past such a simple illusion then they don't deserve to be chunin." Naruto responded with in a bored tone as if it would've been obvious. Sasuke was slightly confused though. Why wouldn't he want more in the exams? It meant more chances to prove your power right? So why would you knock off the competition before they even showed up? "The exams are tough and while those people may suck shit at genjutsu, who knows? Maybe they could've been nin- or taijutsu gods that would've been unstoppable in the rest of the exams. It's easier this way and improves our chances of passing."

"I see we're not the only ones who thought that way. We even put on a show to help enforce the illusion." The three spun around to see a boy with dark hair and white eyes standing next to his teammates with a smirk on his face. His teammates were a girl with a pink sleeveless shirt and her brown hair styled in buns while the other was a boy with a black bowl cut hair style and green spandex on.

"Lee, Tenten. Nice to see you again." Naruto greeted normally before just looking at the other boy. "Neji." His tone was stiff, almost forced, something they all noticed but the older three were seemingly used to it as the boy's had a small history with each other.

"I didn't know you were taking part in the exams Naruto-san. I expected this to be a clean sweep. With you here I might actually get the challenge I've been wanting for two years." Neji boasted, not even bothering to acknowledge Naruto's teammates.

"Couldn't take the exams without a team Neji." Was his smooth reply. The boy finally looked at the two for a few seconds before focusing once more on Naruto.

"They don't seem like much. Even if one is the supposedly great 'last' Uchiha." Sasuke grit his teeth and was about to retort but Naruto cut him off.

"That's what I thought too when I was first stuck with them. Now though, they'll be more than enough to get through the exams." Neji seemed to accept this and continue onwards towards the exams room as Tenten gave a small smile and Lee a large one and wave before following. Naruto watched them leave before facing his teammates.

"You two just met Hyuuga Neji, last years 'Rookie of the Year'. His teammates are Tenten, last years' top kunoichi, and Rock Lee, last years' dobe. Do not underestimate any of them as they are tough opponents. On a side note, Tenten is the person I would've given the Kubikiri to had both of you refused it." Naruto added with a look towards Sasuke. They both nodded though Sasuke was reluctant, obviously still angry at being dismissed by someone that knew him without him being able to return the favor. "Last I saw them was on a mission just after the exams I was last in. Unless they changed drastically over the time since, they are a powerful physical assault team so close combat is a bad choice normally. Should we have to face them, I'd say we'd be pretty even since I'd put our team in the same role with me and Sasuke to attack the enemy and Sakura to give support. Let's not worry about them for right now though alright?" Naruto gave them both a small smile before turning around and walking on to the exam room, leaving his teammates to wonder what seemed to be the conflict between Neji and Naruto.

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><p>As the three entered the exam room they were instantly blasted by killer intent by most of the people already in the room hoping to intimidate the new entrants into quitting. Sasuke steeled his expression but seemed otherwise fine as Naruto just yawned loudly, much to a few of the genins' irritation. Sakura though flinched and looked somewhat scared. She looked over to her team, wondering how they were fairing, and after seeing their serious and bored expressions respectively, she gave a slight smile. Of course they wouldn't be worried, and after thinking for a moment she realized that neither should she. Her teammates would protect her if anything went wrong. Just like she'd do her best for them too. They were a team after all.<p>

"Sasuke-kun!" And then Sakura's face went dark at the shrill voice coming from behind as Sasuke himself let out a rare sigh. Naruto merely quirked an eyebrow but watched as a blond girl came running up and tried to jump on Sasuke's back, only for him to sidestep at the last second and make her miss and fall on the floor. She quickly spun around with a teary eyed expression for the boy. "Sasuke-kun why? You know I love you!" She declared, to varying reactions. Naruto scoffed, Sakura glared, and many of the genin around them that thought Ino was beautiful now seemed to hate the object of her affections since he didn't seem to care. What he said next only enforced that opinion.

"Because I don't have time to associate with weaklings. I'm here to become a chunin and you'll just hold me and my team back." Naruto gave a slight smirk at the boy since he was finally starting to admit and accept that both him _and_ Sakura were teammates. Plus it showed he was apparently picking up Naruto's dislike of fan girls and his methods of dealing with them, brutal honesty about how pathetic they were followed possibly by physical violence to enforce the fact. Sakura merely gave a triumphant look to the blond who was now staring at Sasuke in shock before glaring at Naruto and Sakura.

"This is all your fault! Sasuke-kun hates me because of you!" Naruto snorted and rolled his eyes but didn't other responding as Sakura got into her face and started arguing with her. Both the other boys merely watched the spat with apathy as two other boys walked up and one commented on it.

"Knew it. I told you Ino would start a fight when we got here Choji. Damn troublesome woman."

"I guess so. I just didn't expect Sakura to be here." Naruto looked over and saw the Nara and Akamichi clan heirs looking at the fight before turning to him and Sasuke. Naruto merely shrugged as he had nothing to really say about what was honestly a pathetic fight that he knew Sakura was holding back for. It seemed Neji's earlier moment about appearing weak was something she took to heart and was purposely holding back to ensure it, though Naruto doubted anyone beside him and Sasuke could really tell. Feeling that Choji and Shikamaru had turned to face him, Sasuke merely looked at them and grunted in place of a greeting before going back to Ino and Sakura arguing, which was strangely entertaining to him.

"Hey, check it out! The rest of our class is here!" They all, including Ino and Sakura, turned to see three more genin their age walk in. One had a grey jacket with a furred hood on and red triangles on his cheeks while a small white puppy was sitting on his head. Another had spiky brown hair, sunglasses and a high collar gray jacket while the final was a girl with short dark blue hair and white eyes wearing a beige jacket. The dog merely barked happily at seeing the familiar faces before sniffing and looking intently at Naruto. Kiba seemed to notice this and followed his dogs' gaze to the blond and looked him over. Little did anyone seem to notice but the white eyed girl behind him was doing the same, her expression one of thought, as if the blond was a puzzle to her.

'_I know I've seen him before, even before the day he came to get Sasuke-san and Sakura-san. I just couldn't get a good look at him but now I'm sure of it. I know him, but from where? And how long ago?'_ The girl thought as she quietly observed the blond. Kiba though, his eyes settled on the gauntlet in recognition.

"That's the Kiba no Makai! How the hell does an outsider like you have it? You a thief?" He accused, completely missing Naruto's grave expression. Before anyone could notice, Naruto's flame covered fist was in front of Kiba's face. The boy jerked back while everyone, besides Sasuke and Sakura who knew of the blonde's speed and skill, were staring in shock.

"This was a gift from my old teammate, Inuzuka Koji. After he died I offered to give it back to the clan but your mother, the clan head, told me to keep it. Don't insult Koji's memory by calling me a thief for having his gift, mutt." Naruto ground out in a low tone as Kiba was sweating from how close Naruto had shoved the fire to his face. "Kami, I don't see how Hana can put up with your shit." Naruto muttered as he went back to his teammates. By know they had seemed to get over the shock of his speed. Kiba was about to start yelling at him about what he had just done and question him about how he knew his sister when another new voice spoke up.

"You may want to keep quiet. Naruto's been known to cripple people who piss him off like that." Naruto gave a slight smile at the voice as the rest looked to see an older genin with white hair and glasses wearing a purple outfit walk up.

"Still hanging in there Kabuto? I'm surprised you haven't gotten that promotion yet." Naruto commented, causing the now identified Kabuto to chuckle.

"The exams are hard after all, you know that." Naruto gave him a rueful smile as he knew it all to well. Kabuto noticing the mood change, quickly switched the subject. "So how've you been getting along with your new teammates? Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura right?" Both genin stared at how the boy seemed to know them already as Naruto shrugged.

"As good as can be expected I guess. Say, do you still do that little info card thing like last time?" Naruto suddenly asked and in response Kabuto grinned and pulled out a stack of cards from his pouch.

"And I've gotten even more since then. I've got a bit on everybody here from you to the supposed proctors even. I hear we're getting someone from Konoha I & T for the first part." Naruto and surprisingly Ino both grimaced at that news as they knew some of the stories about people from there. Naruto though quickly shook his head though.

"Tell me everything you have on Sabaku no Gaara of Suna. I want to see how dangerous he is and I'll even share a secret about him with you that I'm sure you don't know." Kabuto looked intrigued now but quickly shuffled through the cards before pulling out a blank card. With a small pulse of chakra the card lit up with statistics and a chart, as well as a small picture of the inquired genin.

"Sabaku no Gaara, teammates are his older siblings Temari and Kankuro while his sensei is a jonin named Baki. Apparently they're also children of the Yondaime Kazekage. Since he's foreign I don't have much skill wise but as for missions, he's done plenty of D-ranks, a few C-ranks and get this 2 B's and an A-rank. Rumors say he's returned from every single one without ever taking a single hit in his life." Kabuto read off as Naruto's expression steeled itself while he looked through the room for the red head. He soon found him by his team leaning against the opposite wall grinning directly at him. "So," Kabuto started, to get Naruto's attention while also following his gaze to the Suna genin. "What do you supposedly have to add to my card?"

"He's a jinchuriki." Kabuto paled and whirled back at Naruto to see his expression hadn't changed in the slightest.

"You're serious? Another one, here? Now?" Naruto simply nodded which made Kabuto begin cursing to himself. As everyone else was wondering what the hell a jinchuriki was, Kiba stepped forward to Kabuto.

"Tell me everything you know on this guy." He demanded while jabbing his thumb at Naruto. Said blonde didn't even turn to face him as Kabuto looked to see if his friend was okay with it.

"Go ahead Kabuto. Tell the mutt what he's trying to pick a fight with." He said before glancing at the boy from the corner of his eye. "Akamaru, you may want to teach your pet some respect and restraint though before he bites off something that'll bite back." This made plenty of them surprised since they wondered how Naruto knew Akamaru and were beginning to wonder even more about the blonde, save for Kabuto who already knew his connection and relationship with the Inuzuka clan. Kabuto shuffled through his cards before pulling out another one and with another burst of chakra it lit up like Gaara's had.

"Uzumaki Naruto. His current teammates are Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. His previous ones were Inuzuka Koji and Sakuya. He graduated from the academy after only his second year, albeit as the dobe of the class but still skilled enough, and was placed with the Rookie of the Year and top kunoichi as is tradition. His sensei is Hatake Kakashi. While Naruto didn't see much improvement during the first year and a half, after what has been dubbed the Chunin Exams greatest massacre where his old team was killed in front of him, Naruto's skill set exploded along with gaining an entry into the Bingo Book, being the first Konoha genin to ever do so and one of the youngest in the world as well. He has Kage level chakra reserves, skill with both Katon and Futon jutsus, impeccable taijutsu, is skilled with the weapons of his fallen teammates that he wields in memory to them, and is a jinchuriki in his own right. The Bingo Book lists him as a B-rank shinobi with an approach with caution order for any B-rank or below ninja." As Kabuto listed off his stats, all the genin within hearing range were paling more and more while facing the blond. Save for Sakura and Sasuke, who had figured that it was this 'jinchuriki' thing that made him and Gaara similar and were now trying to figure out just was a jinchuriki was. At least until the smoke erupted at the front of the room and plenty of chunin appeared along with one jonin wearing a black trench coat and bandana style headband with scars all over his face.

"Alright maggots! All of you are to sit down and shut up! I own your asses for the next hour and if you even think of talking back you fail and will be kicked out of my room ass first!" He shouted as everyone stared. He gestured to a man next to him holding a box before speaking again. "Come up here to get your seating arrangements for the test or get out. No questions!" He shouted as everyone seemed to be rushing now to get their seats. As everyone sat down Naruto took a moment to look around and see where everyone was located. Sakura was directly behind him three rows back, Sasuke was off to his right five rows back, his friend Kabuto had a spot two rows ahead of him to his right, while apparently he was next to some random kid from Taki he'd never seen before and Kiba's Hyuuga teammate. Naruto also noted that the girl was studying him from the corner of her eye for some reason. Naruto didn't know and personally didn't care as he suspected it was because she was trying to see just how a boy her age could be so dangerous. He was totally wrong of course, but he didn't know that.

"Now that all of you maggots are seated we can get started. My name is Morino Ibiki and as I said, I own you for the next hour. What I say goes and any arguing will disqualify you and your teammates instantly! So make sure you shut up and listen!" Ibiki yelled with a flare of his killer intent to ensure they would listen. Most of the genin were scared shitless, but he noted with a hidden smirk that a few were staring at him with either determination or boredom. "Now, the first test for you to pass is a written exam. However the exam operates under different rules than you're likely used to so listen up because I will not repeat myself. Rule one; this exam is a reverse points test. This means you start with your perfect score of ten points without even having the paper. For every question wrong you lose one point. Get them all wrong and you fail. Rule two; this is a team test. If one member fails, you're entire team fails! Rule three; anybody caught cheating will instantly lose two points! So don't get caught!" He shouted, instantly getting a few to narrow their eyes as they wondered what that last rule was about. Normally when caught cheating you would fail instantly, not just get a deduction. Many eyes also widened shortly after as they realized what Ibiki meant and his no-so-hidden advice for the test. "The final question is special and will be given to you after forty-five minutes! Now start!"

All around the room people began to look down at the papers they had been given as Ibiki had spoke. All of them also realized that it would take an intelligence higher than genin level in order to actually solve the problems legitimately. And so while a few quietly panicked, the rest started doing exactly what they had realized from Ibiki's talk; cheat without getting caught. Kiba had Akamaru scout out answers and then relay them to him, Shino was doing the same with his bugs, and both Neji and Hinata had their Byuakugan's blazing to see the answers as others used their own skills to cheat.

'_These are way too hard for Sasuke-kun and I wouldn't be sure but perhaps Naruto too. I can do them but they're gonna have a hard time.'_ Sakura thought as she looked over the questions. She glanced out of the corner of her eye towards Sasuke who was off behind her to her right and saw his eyes were red and he was writing quickly. She had to hide her smile at seeing one teammate doing well on the test and then focused in on Naruto a few rows ahead of her. Since she couldn't see around him, she couldn't see how he was doing it but she saw he was writing so she merely nodded to herself and put her intellect to work on solving the problems. Unlike most, she couldn't think of a creative way to cheat but at the same time she didn't have to as she could solve them herself with a bit of thought.

'_There, that's the last one. Now I just have to wait for the final question.'_ Hinata thought as she wrote down her answer for question nine. Since she was done but had her Byakugan active, she decided to see if she could find what about Naruto was so familiar and focused her attention onto the boy next to her. Just to be forced to hide a gasp as he seemed to be a beacon of light to her eyes. When a Hyuuga has their eyes active, the world seems to show up in a mostly black and white mono-color with people appearing more as a grouping of curved and glowing lines in human shapes to represent their chakra network. Most people seemed to 'glow-in-the-dark' as it were with a light blue color to their chakra. Naruto on the other hand was practically a floodlight of bright blue chakra with small flickers of red every few seconds. The only reason she didn't notice before was because her attention was on the person she had been copying her answers from. But now that she was focused on him he seemed to be lighting up everything around him, to her at least. _'His chakra, it's huge! Just like that older genin said, his reserves are far beyond any genin. Even the chunin and jonin in the room are nothing compared to him! And what's that red chakra? It seems to come from his stomach and flow out before dispersing into his reserves like regular chakra.'_ She thought as she strained her eyes to see how he was familiar. She also wondered how he was cheating and couldn't see him using any chakra or using some sort of string and mirror set up like the girl a few rows to their left so she was curious as to how he was answering. Glancing at his paper, she had to resist the urge to face-fault or burst out laughing. He wasn't answering a single thing but rather drawing a picture of a chibi-Ibiki in boxers, crying and acting scared around a bunch of other ninja. He also had written above a message for the scarred proctor.

You're losing your touch Scarface. Maybe you should let Anko take over for you? Also, if the Hokage doesn't already know, tell him there's a jinchuriki here from Suna. He seems bloodthirsty for lack of a better word, and the gourd he carries reeks of the smell of it too.

PS – Big, red and furry is laughing at you for your pathetic but hilarious mind rape of the other genin.

'_What exactly is a jinchuriki? Kabuto-san's little cards said both are jinchuriki so why would one from another village be dangerous to Konoha? Is it because unlike him he's not loyal to our village?' _She thought as she deactivated her Byakugan to wait patiently for the final question. As she did, one final thought went through her head. _'And who's "big, red and furry"?'_

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><p>A while later Ibiki looked up at the clock and grinned. "Alright everyone stop right now!" He shouted, getting everyone to obey and look at him. "It's time for the last question, but this one has a few extra rules to it. First off is that you have to choose if you want to take the question or not."<p>

"Well why wouldn't we take it? We want to pass right?" A random genin called out and Ibiki flared his killer intent again.

"Shut the hell up! If you take the question and get it wrong, then you and your team instantly fail and are forbidden from taking the Chunin Exams ever again!" He shouted back getting everyone to start yelling.

"What the hell? You can't do that! There are other kids that took the exams before here!" Kiba shouted from his seat as did others before Ibiki shut them up with another flash of his KI.

"Well they were lucky I wasn't proctoring those exams._ I. Am. God. Here. _Get that through your fucking heads maggots! I make the rules and guess what? The rules now say if you fuck up the tenth question then you're a genin forever! Now, for those who don't want to risk that, raise your hands so you're numbers can be recorded. Then get out of my class and take your teammates with you. So what's it gonna be? Will you risk your career forever on a single question or not?" He asked. Naruto was silently laughing in his head; he could hear that Kyuubi was as well even. Naruto knew Ibiki's threat was nothing more than a bluff. While he may have the power to ban a Konoha genin from the exams, not likely but possible since he is a jonin from their village, he had no authority over the genin from other villages once they left that room. He even said it himself, he was god _here._ Everywhere else though he's just a jonin from Konoha and can't tell any foreign genin what to do on his best days since he isn't part of their village. Naruto wouldn't give up now, and after turning to see Sasuke and Sakura and flashing them each a grin; his own teammates knew not to back down as well. Suddenly a boy raised his hand and gave up, apologizing to his teammates as he did. And just like that the gates were opened and people started giving up one after the other.

For five minutes straight they had to wait as multiple people gave up and left. When the quitting stopped Ibiki looked over the group. "Is that it? Are there any other wimps in here?" Naruto noticed idly out of the corner of his eye that the girl next to him was practically forcing herself not to give in to Ibiki and quit. Had he known her he might have done something but at the moment she was another competitor and he wasn't going to help. Finally Ibiki nodded his head. "To all those remaining…" He started as everyone (sans the two or three that realized his ruse at the beginning) focused on him for his final question. "Congratulations on passing the first Exam!" He called out. It took three seconds for it to sink in.

"WHAT?" It was also at this point Naruto collapsed banging his hand on the desk as he laughed uncontrollably. Even Kabuto was snickering a bit as he watched his friend's reaction. Many of the remaining genin, Naruto's own teammates included, were glaring at the laughing boy.

"Oh damn that was entertaining. Hey Ibiki, you got this on video? I'm willing to pay." Naruto called out as he called his breath. Even Ibiki grinned, which most agreed was a seemingly terrifying sight.

"Regrettably I don't."

"Wait a minute, back up! What do you mean we pass?" Temari called out from her seat. Ibiki merely looked at Naruto.

"Do you want to or should I?" Naruto just shrugged in response so Ibiki continued. "Well as you all likely figured out, the questions were meant to be impossible for any normal genin to figure out. So we planted a few chunin in for you to cheat off of. Said chunin were also the first to 'crack' under pressure and quit when I gave the last question. The test was to see if you could gather info without being noticed, those who couldn't got kicked out. The last question was merely if you had the guts to go up against impossible odds. As a chunin you would eventually be tasked with a mission that seems impossible to complete. Does that mean you stand aside and leave it incomplete? No! Missions such as this are common and could be vital to village security! Despite your feelings of dread and fear you plunge on and do the mission anyways because it keeps your home and people safe and secure! That is what it means to be a chunin!" Ibiki finished with flair. Apparently more than he expected though because suddenly a window seemed to explode as a black ball was thrown in and unfurled itself to reveal a banner and a woman. The woman had purple hair and amber eyes and wore a trench coat and skirt though only a mesh shirt without a bra as was clearly seen since the trench coat was open. The banner that was now hanging from the ceiling declared who she was.

The sexy and single proctor for the second exam; Mitarashi Anko!

Naruto had stopped laughing during Ibiki's explanation and when he saw Anko his eyes darkened for a moment before he let it go and was back into his bored mask as Anko seemed to be counting up the genin. "Seventy-three… seventy-five. Twenty-five teams Ibiki? Your test was way too easy." She taunted as Ibiki merely moved out from behind her banner.

"The teams this year are simply better. And you're early Anko. Again." She gave a sheepish grin before looking over the genin. She noticed Naruto but didn't seem to do anything but look at him for a second longer than the rest.

"Whatever, my test will knock them down by half anyways. Alright gaki's! Get up and follow me to where we'll be having the second exam!" She called out before heading back out the window. The genin slowly got up and went after her as Ibiki went to start collecting papers. He paused when he came to Naruto's and both read his message and looked at his picture.

"I hate that gaki sometimes." He muttered before vanishing in a Shunshin to alert the Hokage.

* * *

><p>"Alright gaki's, welcome! To my favorite place in Konoha, Training Ground Forty-Four, otherwise known as the Forest of Death!" Anko called out from on top of a fence surrounding a large wooded area. The genin were all grouped in their teams and stood on the ground either looking at Anko or the forest behind her. "This is the stage for the second test. Before I can tell you about the test though…" She started before pulling out a stack of papers from her coat. "You all need to sign these in order to continue the exam."<p>

"What are they?" A genin asked so she just grinned.

"Waivers, because if you die I don't want it on my head." She cheerfully replied. Naruto snorted as she passed out the papers. While the genin mostly looked them over Anko continued. "Now if you want to continue, you sign those and turn them in for one of these two scrolls, a Heaven or an Earth scroll." She said as she pulled out two small scrolls from her jacket. One was a dark blue and had the kanji for 'Earth' on it while the other was white with the kanji for 'Heaven'. "You will be given one scroll per team for the test. Your goal is to get the opposite scroll from another team by any means necessary and then make it to the tower at the center of the forest. The time limit is five days from the beginning of the test."

"But what about food?" Choji cried out and Anko merely shrugged.

"Hey, you're ninja. Live off the land. Or if you want, go cannibal and eat the other genin. One more thing, you cannot look in the scrolls for any reason. Doing so instantly disqualifies your team and trust me, we'll know if you open them. Sometimes chunin are trusted with secret documents, so think of it as an extra test. Now sign your waivers and get your scrolls or go home gaki's cause that's all I'm tellin' you!" Anko shouted out as the genin began to sign the waivers and exchange them for scrolls. Naruto and his team were given an Earth scroll and quickly passed it to Sakura discreetly. With her genjutsu skills she could hide the scroll better than they could plus Naruto or Sasuke seemed like the more obvious holders so they would be targeted first, possibly damaging the scroll in any fight they got in. They quickly lined up at a gate and watched the other genin make their way to the others. Naruto noted that most of the Konoha genin seemed scared of him and were heading to gates as far from him as they could get. Gaara merely gave him another psychotic grin before heading out to a gate of his own with his siblings, who also stared at him in fear. But the one thing Naruto noted was that the other foreign teams seemed split; half scared of him, the other half thinking Kabuto was blowing smoke and that he was just some rookie kid. They would likely target him and his team, either to prove he was nothing or to prove they were better. But neither reason mattered because Naruto was not going to let Sasuke and Sakura get hurt because of him.

* * *

><p>"BEGIN!" Anko's voice called out as all the gates flew open at the same time. Naruto's team rushed inside the very moment the gates twitched and were quickly leaping from branch to branch among the treetops. They soon stopped and stood on a couple branches high off the ground.<p>

"So what's the plan Naruto?" Sakura asked, marking Naruto's eyes glaze over in memory.

"_So what's the plan Koji?"_

The boy flinched slightly at the accidental replay of his former teammate's words just before things went to hell. He quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts of the past before facing Sasuke and Sakura.

"I'm not sure. I've heard of this place from sensei but never been in it. From what he described, this is the most extreme training grounds Konoha has in the village. It is not something to be taken lightly and is something genin are usually forbidden from entering. We have to be careful here." He warned, to get both to nod.

"I say we spend a few hours looking for another team but if we can't find one then we head to the tower and make a camp near it so that we'll have a base of sorts." Sasuke suggested. Naruto thought it over and nodded his head as Sakura smiled.

"Sounds good. Let's do it, but stick to the trees. Foreign ninja would likely stay on or near the ground so this way we can get the drop on them." Naruto told them and again they nodded before they started leaping to another branch in their search for other teams.

* * *

><p>Two hours. For two hours they had searched without luck. The sky was starting to get dark, making it hard to see so Naruto suggested they use Sasuke's plan of setting up a base then. They searched but soon found a large hollowed out tree they could use for their purposes easily enough and were about to get to work on setting up camp when Naruto froze. "Naruto? What's wrong?" Sakura asked as he looked around wildly. Sasuke could see how he was acting and activated his Sharingan on instinct to try and see what the blonde was apparently feeling.<p>

"Futon: Daitoppa!" Naruto called out as he whipped through seals and shot a large blast of wind to the groups' right. Just as he did another large blast of wind seemed to come out of the trees and collide with it. As the dust started to settle from the jutsu clash, Sasuke and Sakura took up positions next to Naruto for safety as he pushed chakra into a seal hidden in his glove. In a puff of smoke Naruto was holding a large metal purple staff. On each end of the staff was a double edged blade with etchings of flowers on it. Naruto spun it in his hands a few times before holding it at the ready in front of him. Sakura stared at the weapon in wonder, wondering what it was as Sasuke kept his eyes peeled. He had seen it before when training with the boy on how to use the Kubikiribocho. It was called the Kagirinai Buyou (Eternal Dance) and used to belong to the girl he was teamed with. Just as Kabuto's card had said, he used the weapons of his former teammates in memory to them. And Sasuke knew first hand he was extremely deadly with them. "Come out!" Naruto shouted, only to hear laughter in response.

"Quite skilled to not only respond to but to cancel out my jutsu. You're just as skilled as the books would suggest, Kurai Kitsune." The voice called out. It sounded feminine, suggesting a woman was attacking them. Sasuke and Sakura didn't see anybody and Naruto was still looking around wildly as he tried to locate their foe. "But it's not you I'm here for."

"What?" Naruto asked as his eyes widened in shock.

"I want Sasuke-kun. You and the girl can leave and I won't bother you." The voice called back. Naruto's grip on his weapon seemed to shake for a moment.

"_We want the blond brat. You and the girl can leave. We won't bother you."_

"Who are you?" Sakura called out. The voice laughed again.

"Just someone with a… gift for Sasuke-kun."

"_Don't worry, we just have a little… gift for him."_

Naruto's eyes were completely glazed over as flashes of his last exams flew before his eyes. He was so distracted he never saw the girl come out to attack. She had long dark hair and her eyes seemed to delight in what she was about to do. Without warning she struck Sakura in the chest sending her flying away before kicking Naruto into the air by his jaw. He dropped his weapon from the hit and couldn't even think before the girl was above him and kicked him down into a tree. Naruto's face though didn't even register the hits as he dropped down to his knees with a blank look. Sasuke was shocked that someone had gotten the drop on them and spun around just to see the person smiling at him. "There now, Sasuke-kun. I believe you and I can have all the fun we want now."

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted as he launched a fireball at the girl just for her to laugh and dodge as she engaged him in taijutsu. Meanwhile Naruto was still staring straight ahead with a blank look.

"_Get out of here! Run!"_

"_Koji-nii!"_

"_Naruto-kun move!"_

"_Sakuya-chan! NO!"_

"Again… it's happening again." Naruto muttered under his breath as he didn't even register the battle going on nearby, or that Sakura was kneeling in front of him trying to get his attention.

"Naruto! Naruto snap out of it! Sasuke-kun needs your help! We need you! Naruto!" She shouted as she shook him by his shoulders. In response he just clutched his head and jammed his eyes shut.

"Again. Not again… please not again…" He kept repeating under his breath as Sakura stared in shock. His chakra was flowing fine from what she could tell, she had even tried a genjutsu release on him to try and snap him out of it but nothing was afflicting him. Naruto had seemed to just break down as soon as the other girl had started speaking. _But why?_ She wondered. What could cause him to…? Wait! Kakashi had warned her about this.

_Sakura was panting after her one on one training with their sensei as Naruto and Sasuke were at another part of the training ground working on Sasuke's strength. Kakashi had a small smile on his face from what she could tell. "Very good Sakura. You're getting better every day."_

"_Thanks Kakashi-sensei." Sakura panted out before composing herself and standing up straight. "I think I could probably get even Naruto with a couple of the genjutsu you've taught me."_

"_Maybe, but I suggest you don't. He has enough nightmares as it is."_

"_Huh?" Sakura asked before shaking her head. "Oh right, his old team." It was only a little over a week after they had gotten back from their mission to Nami no Kuni and one thing Sakura had done was to try and find out all she could about Naruto's old team. Sasuke had told her from his own talk with the blond that he was with an Inuzuka and some orphan girl. Sakura wanted to know just how they had died and why but had found all records of it locked out of reach, requiring at least chunin clearance to see. It had confused her but she made due._

"_That's mostly it. The other is that he suffers flashbacks at times." Kakashi said with a nod at Sakura's mentioning of his old students._

"_Flashbacks?" _

"_Sometimes experienced or traumatized people, especially in our line of work, with be hit with memories of their dark moments from the smallest of things that are familiar to the event they end up reliving. I've dealt with them myself a couple times but eventually got used to them and they stopped. Naruto though, hasn't. He hides it well but there are still things that can get him to freeze up as his mind goes back to their deaths and replays them over and over for him." Kakashi explained. "That's why I ask you not to use a genjutsu on him. He has enough nightmares as it is."_

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" Sakura screamed in Naruto's face but the boy seemingly didn't hear her as he just kept muttering 'not again' under his breath. Since Sakura didn't know how to get his mind back on track she turned around to see Sasuke barely holding the girl off with a kunai as she was simply smiling and dancing around his attacks as if it was a game. With one final glance at Naruto, Sakura steeled her emotions and rushed in to help Sasuke.

Naruto still clutched his head unaware of the world around him. All he knew were the last moments of his brother and of the girl he loved.

* * *

><p>And that's chapter 9. Next couple chapters will be the long awaited story of how Koji and Sakuya died as I go back into a small flashback arc for them. I know some of you will be disappointed by this, or by the very little NaruHina I put in but oh well. I couldn't really do much with Hinata yet as there wasn't much of her in the first part of the exams other than offering to let Naruto copy off her. He didn't need that here and she doesn't seem to know him so that wouldn't happen. Also, Naruto's connection with the Inuzuka is a little deeper than having Koji as his teammate, though that was a major factor. That will eventually be explained as well. Like I said way up there at the top, I will mostly be focusing on this story first before switching to others. So expect the flashback chapters soon!<p>

Oh, and about Naruto seemingly wimping out at the end; have any of you ever seen a war veteran flashback? Most either start acting like they're back in the actual event and yell, but a few I've seen just seem to shut down and lock out the world. And they really can be triggered by just a phrase or word by accident. Naruto's "trigger" so to speak is a combination of the Chunin Exams, killer intent, and that Orochimaru unknowingly spoke almost exactly like the people that attacked him, Koji and Sakuya. Those three things combined to shut Naruto down.


	10. 10 Flashback 1

**Sally:** You have never met anybody suffering from PTSD have you? My friends' uncle has it real bad from Vietnam. We can't even make a gunshot noise around him without him flipping out and jumping behind things for cover acting like he has a gun in his had and is in a real fight. Then we have to calm him down but until he does he thinks he's actually back in the war, it's that bad at times. So if you want to criticize me for putting something realistic in my AN at the bottom and then say I don't know what I'm talking about, I suggest you go and learn something next time first.

**Dragon Man 180:** It will be explained why Kabuto can casually drop Naruto's jinchuriki status towards the end of this mini arc. And yes, I said arc. The flashback will be 2 to 4 chapters long.

**Leaf Ranger:** I know, having Kakashi shove Naruto into this was a stupid and dick move, but he needed to try and face this. Did Kakashi know Orochimaru would show up and cause this? No, it was unexpected. But Naruto still needed to face the exams. Plus I needed him to go through them for the story to advance

**timunderwood9: **Hinata appeared last chapter, what are you taling about saying she didn't? I just didn't have any NaruHina interaction to go with her appearance,

This is start of my little flashback arc which will take 2 to 4 chapters. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10 – <strong>Flashback: Coming Together

"Well that's enough for team training today." Kakashi told his genin as they slumped down in exhaustion. It was a little under eighteen months ago they had been placed under his command and he couldn't be happier with their progress.

Koji had advanced in his clan's jutsu style at an astonishing rate, to the point they were calling him a prodigy and apparently a few were trying to find a way to make him heir even though the clan had an heir and heiress already lined up for the position. His ninken Kairi had also grown. While the dog used to be able to fit on his head, she was now about the size of a small child. Not big enough to ride like most teenage Inuzuka do, but getting there. Kakashi expected it in a few more months actually. He had also taken up his father's prized possession; a gauntlet called the Kiba no Makai. It was made mostly for the Inuzuka taijutsu, with clawed fingers that worked in conjunction with their fast paced swipes, but it also had seals on it to incorporate fire into the attacks for a little chakra. A natural fire affinity could do amazing things with the gauntlet and Koji had inherited his fathers' nature type so he passed it on.

Sakuya had grown both in beauty and skill, growing her hair out a bit and filling out more as well. She had also honed her muscle reading skills to the point she was a natural lie detector if she could see a persons' face and could almost predict a persons' attack from watching them. It really helped her fighting style which focused on using a unique weapon she had custom made for herself, a double sided naginata she called Kagirinai Buyou. Her style focused on rapid slashes and strikes while gracefully maneuvering herself into an enemy's weak spots and blind points. With her muscle reading skills and natural flexibility, it fit her perfectly.

And Naruto had changed both the most and least depending on your perspective. On one hand, his teammates had gotten him to stop wearing so much orange. Instead of an orange and blue jumpsuit, the boy now wore an orange shirt with a dark blue windbreaker over it and dark blue pants. He also had on orange gloves that drew attention to his hands. While they got him to stop wearing so much, even they failed to break his fascination with the color. Naruto had also been taught and taken a shine to the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu that Kakashi introduced to his skills four months after taking him on as a student. The reason he had taken so long is because in addition to teaching Koji and Sakuya, all three had to work to bring Naruto out of his horrid basics and make him competent in more than just traps and head on assault, with him not really being that great at the latter in the first place. Once his basics were well and above your average graduates, Kakashi taught him the jutsu and explained all the pros and cons to it. He had quickly taken to using Kage Bunshin to study up on his basics further as well as fix the holes in his other studies that were easily apparent. While Naruto only had one combat jutsu and was still the same overactive hyper knucklehead he was when he graduated, his skills had seen a definitive improvement.

"Finally Kakashi-sensei! I thought we'd be stuck doing this stuff forever!" Naruto whined out. He also had not changed from his childish personality either. The 'stuff' Naruto felt the need to complain about was an exercise his sensei had him do; running laps on water while wearing weights. It may not be much to your average jonin or even some chunin, but to genin it was exhausting. At least in the case of Koji and Sakuya. Naruto had a biju in his gut to give him damn near unlimited energy; he was just bored and not exhausted. "So what now sensei?"

"Calm down Chibi! Me and Sakuya aren't freaking stamina freaks like you damn it!" Koji shouted from where he was slumped on the ground as he took off the weights. Sakuya merely nodded her agreement as she took of the weights herself. Naruto just chuckled and rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Sorry Koji-nii, Sakuya-chan." Naruto apologized. During the time they'd been teammates, Koji and Naruto had become close. Naruto looked up to his older teammate like one would a brother, and that notion only increased when he and Sakuya were invited to the Inuzuka compound due to Koji's father wanting to meet his son's team. The man had taken a quick liking to Naruto due to his energetic nature and cared a lot for him to the point he said he'd watch over him as if he was his own son as well, even extending the same care to Sakuya. Koji had made a joke that it made them like brothers and ever since Naruto had been calling the boy Koji-nii because of it. Koji didn't mind as he liked Naruto a lot and gave him advice on things he felt they could relate on, usually life lessons his father passed onto him that nobody could pass onto Naruto due to his orphan status. Most of the time though they just spent their free time goofing off and playing around in the park with Kairi and maybe Sakuya. Koji was glad he had a friend that could have fun outside of ninja work and Naruto was merely glad to have a friend.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun. We know you're just getting stir-crazy since we haven't had a real mission in a couple weeks." Sakuya replied. As Naruto and Koji grew close, Sakuya had come to care for both boys herself. She usually ended up playing den mother to them but didn't mind in the slightest. When Naruto had started calling her with the –chan suffix, she responded in kind with –kun. Neither really questioned why or even remembered when it started up but didn't care since they both cared a lot for each other as they both were orphans. While Naruto had the Hokage at times and Sakuya had other orphans, both just seemed to click with one another because they both knew what it was like to struggle for everything in life. Though he had yet to confess it, Naruto had actually fallen for Sakuya. Koji had figured it out from a few slipped comments when they were together and had teased him a bit for it but promised not to say anything to her. He had also admitted that had he not found out about Naruto's feelings for their female teammate, he would've eventually asked her out just to see if something more could come of it. Koji though wasn't the type to make a move on someone his friend liked though so unless Sakuya came to him first, he'd leave her for Naruto. Now he was just working on a way to get the boy to confess to his older interest. Neither were sure if Sakuya knew of Naruto's feelings or not.

"Well that's because I've been preparing you guys for a really tough mission that's coming up soon." Kakashi interjected on his students. The three looked at him hopefully for more info and he just gave an eye-smile. "Meet back here tomorrow at the usual time and I'll tell you all about it." The three switched from hopeful to mock glares as he vanished in a Shunshin.

"Tomorrow we prank sensei?" Sakuya voiced. Her question was responded to with a bark, a 'yes', and a shout of 'DAMN STRAIGHT!' so she nodded to herself and turned to her teammates. "So, how about we plan his torture over some lunch?"

* * *

><p>"Ah, Kakashi… you're late… again." The Hokage spoke as said jonin walked into a room with many other jonin standing around waiting. Kakashi looked like he was about to defend his actions but Sarutobi wouldn't let him. "Don't bother; I think we've all had enough of your tall tales." Kakashi looked put out but took his spot in the line-up before the Hokage cleared his throat and began. "Ahem… Now that the last of our jonin sensei are here, I can announce that it is time for the Chunin Exams. As you all know we hold these exams every six months to promote peace between villages and to show off our potential strength. That said, the exams this time are being held in Iwagakure." This declaration was met with murmurs about the village that both despised them and that they hated just as much. "As we are not allies with Iwa, we can only send a few teams to their exams just as they can for our own. We also have to be on our guard at all times because they will take the slightest motivation to remove us from their village and declare war. To this end, I am only allowing three teams to be chosen to go and am not allowing any genin with less than a year of experience to enter."<p>

"So, Kakashi, will you enter your students in these youthful exams? They have the required time Hokage-sama specified." Gai asked from his place next to Kakashi. Gai had made good on his 'promise' to Kakashi and signed up to be a sensei to the newest generation and had been placed with a team of his own just a couple weeks ago. The one-eyed man had silently prayed for an apology the moment he found out and hoped to never encounter the genin as he wasn't sure what they would try to do to him if they found out he accidentally unleashed the eccentric man on them.

"Hm…" Was Kakashi's response, and for once not because he was too engrossed in a little orange book but because he was actually debating whether he should send his team or not. _'One one hand; Koji, Sakuya and Naruto are all ready for chunin rank. Koji is well on his way for special jonin actually. Sakuya can both follow her orders well and make level headed leadership decisions when required in addition to her combat skills. And then Naruto, with his chakra and usage of Kage Bunshin, he can literally be a one man squad as long as you put him under a commander that will direct him to the most useful areas. Plus he really thinks outside the box when you stick him with a problem so I can see him saving his team from a few bad situations. All three are definitely chunin material. On the other hand though; Iwa. As soon as they see me, they'll likely target them in order to try and deal a blow to the famed 'Copy Ninja'. Plus I'm positive Iwa's genin will do their best to take out any Konoha ninja they can so they'll likely face more opposition than normal just off that alone. Can they stand up to all that pressure or would it be better to wait another six months?'_ As Kakashi deliberated most of the other senseis had declined to enter their students into the exams.

"I, Akabawa Hodo, nominate my genin; Yakushi Kabuto, Akado Yoroi, and Tsurugi Misumi, for the Chunin Exams in Iwa." A jonin with brown hair and glasses said as he stepped forward. Sarutobi nodded his acceptance of the nomination as Kakashi nodded to himself and stepped forward.

"I, Hatake Kakashi nominate my genin; Inuzuka Koji, Uzumaki Naruto, and Sakuya, for the Chunin Exams in Iwa." Sarutobi stared at him for a moment before nodding his acceptance of the other team and looked over his other jonin.

"I will allow one more team to participate. Are there any among you that wish for their team to test themselves for promotion?" Hiruzen asked as Kakashi stepped back. When nobody spoke up he sighed slightly. "Alright then, all of you are dismissed. Kakashi, Hodo; prepare your teams to leave in a week for Iwagakure. The trip should take you another week which would give you a day or two to rest and ready them for the Exams. I will send a messenger bird to the Tsuchikage so they know that Konoha shall be participating." He explained as the two sensei's grabbed the forms their students would need to compete and left with the other jonins. The aged Hokage simply pulled out his pipe and lit some tobacco in it before writing up the paperwork that would allow them to enter the enemy village peacefully.

* * *

><p>"Say, Naruto-kun, isn't your birthday coming up again soon?" Sakuya asked as they were leaving Ichiraku's from lunch. While ramen wasn't the older genin's favorite food they quickly learned that for some reason Naruto wasn't allowed in other restaurants. He didn't know why and nobody would tell them so they simply ate at the ramen stand more or brought their own lunches. Sometimes Koji would invite them to his place for food as well so it didn't bother them.<p>

"Yeah, in a couple weeks." Naruto responded. Naruto's tenth birthday had easily been the best in his life. His first nine were spent alone other than the Hokage stopping by to give him something and then returning to work. Plus people were usually extra vicious on that day since it was also the Kyuubi festival and they would get drunk. Since becoming a shinobi and getting his observation skills polished with Koji and Sakuya helping him, he could tell that their had to be some kind of connection between him and the festival since he was always called a demon or monster and it was always especially bad around this time of year. He still didn't know what though. When his tenth birthday swung around, he didn't bother telling his team since he figured they'd be enjoying the festival and wouldn't want to spend time with him. However he was shocked when they came by and spent the day with him instead, having been informed of his birthday by their sensei who knew it from their profiles he had been given prior to becoming their teacher. He had never been happier and was hoping that his eleventh would be just as fun.

"Oh right… you're birthday…" Koji muttered as he looked up to the sky. "Well damn, I totally forgot. I'm gonna have to get you somethin' good. Want me to bring a bottle of tou-san's sake like last year?" He asked with a grin. Besides a present and party, last year Koji had snuck a bottle of his fathers' favorite drink out of the house to Naruto's apartment with him. He argued that since they were technically adults since they were ninja, it was okay to drink. And as such he wanted to share his first drink with his teammates and a birthday party seemed like a good excuse to try it. Kakashi was there and said it was fine but they had to be responsible with it and that he wasn't going to let up on the next days' training, even if they had a hangover. Koji turned out to be a lightweight and passed out after only a couple cups while Sakuya apparently became very clingy to her 'chibi-kun' after a few and Naruto could apparently hold his liquor like a pro. Thinking back on it Naruto was pretty sure it was around that time he started adding –chan to Sakuya's name.

"Like you could take more than a sip anyways!" Naruto shot back with a grin as Koji took a swing at his head, which he ducked under. It was one of the few things Naruto had over Koji so he brought it up any time Koji mentioned the drink or the party. Sakuya merely shrugged as the drink was alright with her and she barely remembered much of what happened after they started drinking other than nearly squeezing Naruto to death before sleeping on his couch. "Besides, didn't you get enough at your party last month?" Naruto brought up, seeing as Koji's birthday had recently passed. It was a fun party at the Inuzuka compound, though only Kakashi, Sakuya and him were there and not from the clan. He also noticed a few of the older Inuzuka glaring at him throughout but they were surprisingly very few. Most of the Inuzuka were _not_ pissed at him for some unknown reason apparently, which just made them better than before in Naruto's book.

"Hey, sake tastes good and tou-san said I could have a drink every now and then as long as I don't go overboard. That's why I save it for parties and stuff. Besides, if anything I could convince him to let me bring a bottle as 'his gift' to you if you want."

"You're just going to bring a bottle anyways Koji, why even ask?" Sakuya mocked as she lightly nudged him in the shoulder. He just grinned as Kairi barked. The three continued on, ignoring how most seemed to glare at Naruto or give him wide berth and them by association. It didn't bother them anymore that it happened, but Koji and Sakuya wanted to know why Naruto seemed so hated by everyone from civilian to shinobi. From the time they had been placed with Naruto to the current, they saw the boy as a likeable and mischievous kid mostly. Yeah he pranked people occasionally which was annoying, but it wouldn't warrant the hate they saw him treated with. And they hadn't even seen that he had been beaten a few times, even since he became a shinobi. Naruto hid that much from them and the mobs would never bother him that badly if he was with someone, which was part of the reason he did whatever he could to always be spending time with one of them or Kakashi if he was available.

"Say, you guys wanna go do somethin'?" Naruto asked. Koji shook his head.

"Can't really. Tou-san said he's got something to show me later so I gotta be home soon. Sorry chibi."

"I don't have anything special to do." Sakuya said as she gave the boy a smile. Naruto grinned at her as they walked towards the Inuzuka compound to spend some more time with Koji before he had to split. Naruto really liked his friends.

* * *

><p>"Itching powder ballons and blunted kunai aimed at my junk… Did I really deserve the latter guys?" Kakashi asked as he gazed at the three genin who were varying between anger and apathy. As soon as he had walked onto the training grounds at his customary three hour late mark, he felt something off. It was only a quick substitution with a shadow clone that saved him from getting struck in the face with dark brown ballons filled with the white powder and a few blunted kunai. His poor clone though had let out a high pitch squeal before dispelling and made the real Kakashi shiver from the memories as he walked out a second time.<p>

Koji shrugged in response to his question while Sakuya was glaring at him for being late again, especially after promising them some kind of important mission, and Naruto was crouched over by Kairi moping at how his best trap yet had failed to get the real Kakashi. Said dog was trying to cheer the boy up by licking his face. Kakashi waited a moment but when none of them really answered he just sighed and pulled out three sheets of paper. "Alright team, I have something you need to sign if you want to go on that important mission I mentioned." The three took the papers and looked them over to see 'Chunin Exam Entrance Forms' written at the top. "If you three want to be promoted, then this will be your most important mission yet." He told them with a smile. The three were stunned as they never expected him to offer them a chance for promotion.

"The Chunin Exams?" Sakuya wondered out loud as Naruto was confused as to what they were. And for once, he wasn't the only one.

"What are the Exams sensei?" Koji asked as he looked the paper over.

"Well the Chunin Exams are an international competition between the genin of various villages, all for the right to be promoted and show off their villages' strength. I think you three are ready for them so if you want to become chunin then sign those and come to the main gate in five days. That's the deadline. I should warn you though; you can die in these exams if you aren't careful. And this time the exams are in Iwa, and they hate us since we've beaten them in two wars straight. If you aren't bringing your best skills out then you could lose everything. The final decision is up to the three of you though, so take the rest of the week to think about it and chose if it's worth it. I'll see you three later." The man then vanished in a Shunshin, leaving the genin to look at each other wondering if they should go or not.

* * *

><p>~That night~<p>

"Koji, I'm back." A man called as he walked into his home with a large red dog. The man literally looked like an older version of the boy only with a small scar on his right cheek. He wore a black jacket with red fur lining the hood open and a mesh armor shirt underneath. His pants were black and around his left leg was tied his Konoha headband. This was Koji's father, who was just returning from a mission that he'd been on for a week.

"Hey tou-san!" Koji called out as he came from his room to greet his father. The dog gave a slight growl so he smiled and patted it on the head. "Hi to you to Hime." He then turned his attention back to his father. "You got a minute tou-san? I kinda need some advice." He asked as the man took off his jacket. He looked down at his son for a moment before shrugging and heading to the living room.

"What'cha need sochi? And where's your mother?" He asked as he took a seat in a large chair and relaxed while Koji just grabbed a seat next to him.

"She's off spending time with friends, but she can't help me with this, being a civilian and all." His father nodded his understanding, he was one of the few Inuzuka that didn't go and find a shinobi wife but fell for a civilian woman. It was strange but not unheard of. Since Koji didn't go to her with his problem, it meant it was related to his ninja career and as such she couldn't do much but wish him luck and point him to his father.

"Well then, what seems to be yer problem Koji? You know I'll help anyway I can." Koji grinned at his dad and got one in return before going on with what he wanted to say.

"Alright, you know how good I am?" The man chuckled and nodded. "And you know how strong Sakuya and chibi are right?" The man nodded again. "Well, do you think we're ready for the next level?" The man quirked an eyebrow as Koji asked his question. "Kakashi-sensei nominated us for the Chunin Exams in Iwa and I want you to tell me if you think we're ready or not." The man's eyes widened for a moment before he closed them and leaned back into his chair in thought. Koji waited in silence as Kairi came out from his room and started a low conversation with Hime, done off in the corner with growls and yips to each other. Finally his father sighed.

"I can't really answer that Koji."

"What? But you-" Koji stopped as his father held out a hand.

"I can't answer it because it's not my choice. I know your skill and have a good idea of what your team is capable of, but that doesn't make it my decision. I suspect Kakashi gave you some paperwork and a deadline to decide?" Koji nodded his head. "Well then, he's leaving the choice to the three of you. He thinks your ready, and as your teacher he should know your skills better than anybody. And yet, he's still leaving the choice to the three of you. So you shouldn't be asking me this but rather, you should be talking to Naruto and Sakuya. Ask them, if they think you're all ready. All I can really say is good luck if you go for it, and there's always next time if you don't. I'll stand by whatever decision you make in this Koji, because I believe in you." Koji smiled at the proud grin his father was giving him. "Besides, you're and Inuzuka, it's in our nature to kick ass when the time comes. You just have to choose if that time is now." Koji chuckled but gave his father a hug as he stood.

"Thanks tou-san. I think I'll go and talk to Sakuya and chibi."

"You do that. I'm gonna wait for yer mother and then have a nice night with her." He replied with a nod and grin as Koji just shook his head and left to go see his teammates. Kairi ran and gave a quick lick to the man's face before running out after her partner while the man turned to his ninken. "You think he'll go Hime?" The dog looked in the direction the two left before nodding. "You think he'll do good?" He could just tell the dog was grinning in its own way as it nodded faster this time. "Well good. Now he just needs to get a girl and he'll be set." Hime let out a bark as he just chuckled and relaxed in his chair. It was good to be home.

* * *

><p>"Yo chibi! You home?" Koji called out as he knocked on Naruto's door. It somewhat bothered him that his 'little brother' lived in the poor district of town and had to be in a rundown apartment but Naruto seemed fine with it so he didn't' bug him about it. He once asked his father if they could get Naruto a place on the Inuzuka compound but he replied that the clan head said no. Not because she was against Naruto, but rather because there were some other Inuzuka that would have a problem with it. So Koji kept his mouth shut and just accepted that Naruto would be living in a run-down place.<p>

"The door's open Koji-nii!" The blonde's voice rang out so the older boy opened and walked in. As always, the walls were mostly pictures of them all spending time together, though there were a few that were of Naruto with either the ramen stand workers, his Academy sensei Iruka, or the Hokage. That was something both of his teammates were shocked about, Naruto went around calling the village leader jiji, and got away with it. Koji shook the thoughts out of his head as he entered the living room to see Naruto sitting on his couch with Sakuya lying down on his chest. He looked closer and saw she had tear tracks from her eyes, meaning she was crying before falling asleep. The blond flashed Koji a small grin before turning back to the girl on top of him.

"Um… do I want to know what happened?" Koji asked as he grabbed a chair and sat down while Kairi went over to Naruto for some attention. The boy pulled one hand out from under the girl and started petting the dog as he shrugged.

"I honestly don't know. Earlier she just came over crying and I let her in. We sat down and she just started crying on me but wouldn't say why." He then looked up at Koji with his eyes full of both concern and anger. "I don't know who made her cry but whoever did, I want to find them and teach them a lesson." Koji nodded but then pointed something out.

"What says it was a 'who'? Maybe it was some_thing_ that made her cry." Naruto shrugged again but turned his gaze back on the sleeping girl.

"Either way I want to go beat up whatever made Sakuya-chan cry." Koji let out a chuckle.

"Worry about your girlfriend later chibi. I came over to talk to you." He said before letting out another chuckle at the small blush the came to Naruto's face when he called Sakuya his girlfriend. "And her too actually, now that I think about it. I was just gonna go find her afterwards but this makes it easier." Koji added as an afterthought. Naruto nodded and suppressed his blush before gripping Sakuya's shoulders and lightly shaking her.

"Sakuya-chan? You need to get up Sakuya-chan." The girl mumbled something under her breath but opened her eyes to see Naruto giving her a small smile and looking down on her.

"What is it Naruto-kun?"

"Koji-nii's here and needs to talk to us." Her eyes opened for a moment before she looked and saw the boy sitting in a chair grinning at her.

"Comfortable down there Sakuya?" He teased. She just blushed but then smiled before positioning herself with her head in Naruto's lap.

"Maybe it is. And Naruto-kun doesn't mind, do you?" She asked. Said boy quickly shook his head but looked away to try and hide his blush as Sakuya turned her attention back to Koji. Said boy was trying not to break out laughing at the sight. _'Oh he definitely doesn't mind Sakuya. In fact I'm pretty sure he likes it.' _He thought as he let out a light chuckle before getting serious.

"Anyways, we all really need to talk." They both nodded with serious looks to show they were listening so Koji continued. "I've been thinking a lot about the Chunin Exams Kakashi-sensei nominated us for and even asked my tou-san for some advice. He said that it's our decision on whether we go or not. He said that sensei believes in us enough to nominate us for them, but still left the decision to us. It's not a matter of _are_ we ready, but rather of do _we_ think we're ready." He paused to let them think that over before continuing. "I wanted to ask you guys… do you think we're all ready for the Exams? Cause I'm actually not sure if we are or not. I've seen some of the chunin in the village and know we could take a few on no problem, but then there are others that could tear us apart. We've all got our skills and we're all great, but are we ready to be chunin or not?" Sakuya and Naruto could both see that Koji was really torn in his decision to go or not and looked at each other before Sakuya sat up, to Naruto's hidden dislike, and both turned to Koji.

"Well I've thought it over myself and decided that if you two want to go for then I say let's go." Sakuya started. "You're right Koji; there are some chunin out there that could take us down just as easily as we could take down others. I'm pretty sure we're going to find some of the other genin in the exams to be just like that. But you know what? It doesn't matter as long as we stick together. We've come out of a few tough spots together and gotten stronger because of them, so I know. On our own we may have trouble, but that's why we're teammates isn't it?"

"Yeah Koji-nii. You should know that better than us, after all you're the guy that told us that aren't you?" Naruto added, recalling how in their genin exam Koji was the one to pull them together to pass. Koji gave a slight grin at the memory as Naruto smiled. "I know we're ready, cause we're the best in Konoha. So I'm going, and if I have you and Sakuya-chan with me then we'll get through everything." Koji chuckled as Naruto finished his talk before looking up at the two of them.

"You two are right. Together we can do this. So let's go to Iwa, and show off our strength." The other two grinned at him as he spoke with determination. Listening from outside the door was Kakashi, who was smiling after hearing his genin's determined talks. That was why he decided to go through with signing them up. While each had a couple faults, together they covered them and brought out their best. They were chunin material, and now they'd prove it in Iwa.


	11. 11 Flashback 2

To all of you that are complaining about me starting a Flashback arc right here, get over it. I planned this little arc to happen right now since the beginning. I was always planning on cutting away from the fight against Orochimaru to dive into Naruto's memories so to speak and reveal the origin of his title and loss of his team. It's not some spur of the moment decision and I don't like hearing how people are complaining about it or calling it a waste of time. Would you rather I completely ignore it and you never find out what happen? No because then you'd all be missing a major plot point and would complain about that instead. So either read or not, it's your choice. Just don't complain and call it a waste of time and then later ask how things happened because you refused to read it.

**Sally:** Yes he does and his own _three_ psychiatrists all refer to it as him suffering from the flashbacks of an extremely bad case of PTSD. That's how I know I'm not in the wrong here.

**TwiliFay:** Changes from person to person but in this story this little flashback arc will take a few chapters but once done it will be back to the fight against Orochimaru as if only a couple minutes passed.

**NarutoJ9:** Yeah his old team died without knowing about Kyuubi. At this point, _even Naruto _doesn't know he has the Kyuubi. Going by the way everyone reacted in canon when Naruto found out, it points to that he Sandaime never wanted the boy to know and only relented after someone let it out. Personally I think that was a retarded decision as if Naruto never found out then he would've never learned how to use its power and would've made a pour jinchuriki for Konoha. Can you imagine if Akatsuki came for him and he didn't even know he had a demon in him? So yeah, stupid Sandaime but I'm going with what looked like his canon plan of not telling Naruto. As such he doesn't know and neither do Koji or Sakuya.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11 –<strong> Flashback: The Secret Password

"Well you three, are you all ready to participate in the exams?" Kakashi asked his team as they gathered at the regular training grounds. Koji grinned as he adjusted the pack on his back, Sakuya nodded as she also had a pack on hers as well, and Naruto let out a loud 'Yep!' that made Kakashi smiled at the three. "Good, then let's head to the gates to meet up with the other Konoha team that's going so that we can leave." He then turned and left without another word as the kids followed him. As they traveled through town they noticed most of the shinobi wishing them luck, well mostly Koji and Sakuya as thy either ignored or glared at Naruto. Word had spread about the two teams heading to Iwa for the Chunin Exams and the ninja population of the village was hoping to soon have a few more chunin among their ranks. Most were also hoping the 'Kyuubi brat' died somehow. As the team made its way to the main gate they saw the others, a plain looking jonin standing by three teens a few years older than them wearing similar purple outfits. Standing at the gate as well was the Hokage in his normal robes with a smile on his face.

"On time for once, eh Kakashi?" Said jonin just chuckled at the Hokage's words as his own students stared at him in shock. They were on time? They were expecting to get yelled at for being late. Noticing the expressions of his genin Kakashi chuckled sheepishly.

"I'm not that bad am I?"

"Yes!" The shouted response of the three students as well as any passing ninja that knew of the man and his habits shouted making him slump down muttering nonsense.

"Now, to the six genin going to the Exams…" Sarutobi started as he cleared his throat to get their attention. The younger generation all looked up to him as he smiled. "You six have been recommended by your senseis to partake of the Chunin Exams. You shall be tested and pushed to your limits in a foreign country for the right to be promoted to the next level. However remember these words. You are representing Konohagakure no Sato of Hi no Kuni! You are shinobi of the village and shall behave accordingly and do nothing that would reflect poorly on your village. Do your best, work together and protect each other, and showcase just what Konoha can do! Now go, and know that all our wishes of good luck and success follow you!"

As the Hokage finished all the genin were staring at him with nothing but pure determination written in their eyes as the old man gave them on last smile and nod before vanishing in a shunshin, no doubt to return to the paperwork he left. The two jonin looked at each other before nodding and heading out. "Alright teams, let's move out." Kakashi called out as the six took one last look at the village before leaving. Naruto, Koji and Sakuya all shared the same thought; they were leaving as genin, but when they returned they would be the next legends of Konoha.

* * *

><p>"So, what are your names?" One of the older genin asked as they set up camp for the night. It was going to be a week long trip and the way they had it set was so that they would arrive with time to spare. Kakashi's students all looked over from their campfire to see one of the other genin walking up. He had silver hair and glasses as well as a kind smile on his face. The two teams had set up two camps right next to each other so that they were close enough to be together but separate enough not to bother the other in case they wanted their privacy. Kakashi took a glance at the boy from over the edge of his book before shrugging, seeing no harm in the other genin wanting to get to know his fellow comrades.<p>

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Sakuya, nice to meet you."

"Name's Inuzuka Koji and this is Kairi." The three introduced themselves as the genin sat down next to them and smiled.

"My name's Yakushi Kabuto. The other two are Akado Yoroi and Tsurugi Misumi." He introduced motioning to his teammates who were eating some food back at their own campfire. "So is this your first time in the exams?"

"Yeah. How about you?" Koji asked as Kairi gave him a small whimper, there was something about Kabuto she didn't like but he didn't know what exactly. So he figure he'd be kind and courteous but keep an eye open just in case. Sakuya and Naruto however didn't know that so they were simply friendly with the older boy.

"No, it's my fourth actually. I've failed three times before this and the exams are held every six months." The younger trio nodded their understanding as Kabuto told them a bit about his old exam trials. "From how things have been the first three times, the Exams are broken into at least three parts. The first is always some sort of intelligence gathering test. It's been different every time so I can't really say much more than that. The second is always some kind of survival exercise and is where the fighting starts. My team and I are always just barely surviving that part but we always fail the objective so we haven't been able to see what lies past the second test."

"Wow, so why do you keep taking the test then?" Sakuya asked. She was liking how he was helping but was wondering why the boy would continue to keep going at a test that him and his team kept failing. They were obviously great at info gathering since they could always pass the first no problem but apparently their practical skills needed more work so why rush back after only a few months when it would be better to wait a year or two to train themselves to a higher level?

"Well because we figure we can use the exams as an extra tough training session should we fail. If we fail and survive, that just means we have another chance to grow stronger and try again. And if we succeed then we know our training has paid off. So as long as sensei is willing to nominate us, we won't let him down and back out of the challenge but use it to try and make ourselves better. So what if our lives are on the line? As shinobi, that's sort of in the job description isn't it?" Kabuto joked, getting a couple chuckles from them.

"Say Kabuto?" The older teen turned to look down at the youngest there as he offered him a hand. Naruto grinned as he continued speaking. "How about we try and team up? If we both make it past the first part then why not work together to finish the next one huh? Teams from Konoha gotta stick together right?" Kabuto looked to see Sakuya and Koji with smiles and nodding along with their juniors words. So Kabuto smiled himself and shook the boy's hand.

"Thanks Naruto."

"No problem!"

"So what can you and your teammates do? Just so we have an idea of what were teaming with?" Koji asked. Kabuto gave a slight chuckle but pointed over to the other two.

"Yoroi and Misumi each use a different taijutsu style while I stay back in support. I'm also studying medical ninjutsu so I can patch us up enough to get by until a real medic can look us over. So how about you guys?" Kabuto asked and they merely nodded, it was only fair to give him the basics since he gave them theirs.

"Well I use my clan's taijutsu with Kairi here." Koji said while giving his ninken and good pat on the head.

"I'm a close range fighter a special weapon of mine." Sakuya offered up.

"I'm good with traps but like fighting up close with Koji-nii and Sakuya-chan." Naruto finished. Kabuto merely looked thoughtful before grinning.

"Looks like were both close range assault teams at best huh? That should be easy to work with. And with a trap expert and a medic, we could fall back to rest and heal up in relative safety should something bad happen." Kabuto summarized as the younger trio grinned. "Well, I'll go let my teammates know of our alliance and have my dinner. It was nice talking with you."

"You too." They called out as Kabuto got up and headed beck to the other genin. Kakashi merely smiled as he read his book. They were already thinking like chunin he noticed. The offered out a plan for both parties to profit and also gave enough info about themselves to make a valid plan but not enough so that they still had secrets to utilize incase the Exams pit them against each other. For example Koji had fire manipulation to add to his clan's normally element free style. Sakuya was also skilled in traps and could read an opponent by their body language and Naruto could literally be a one man army when the situation called for it. The three students he took on were well on their way to be skilled ninja.

* * *

><p>"So, what are they like?" Yoroi asked as Kabuto returned. The teen merely glanced at him before pulling out three cards and channeling chakra to them to pull up the stats of the younger genin.<p>

"Cautious but eager and willing to listen to their sempei. They gave out just a little of what I already have here though I think the Inuzuka's dog doesn't trust me. I noticed its eyes never left me as if it expected me to attack." Kabuto explained as he looked over the cards. The info was given to him by his sensei by Orochimaru's orders since when the snake sannin found out it was Kakashi's students participating he order Kabuto to gain their trust and learn about them. He figured perhaps they could one day prove useful to his plans and if not then they would be left alone. Save for one, the blonde whose card Kabuto was currently going over. "Well little Naruto… isn't that one large secret you're hiding in your gut. I wonder, do you even know you contain the Kyuubi?" The silver haired boy mused to himself before putting the cards away. It wouldn't really be hard to gain their trust. In fact he was pretty sure he already had some of it. Now he just needed to keep an eye on them and see if he could get more of it. And if they proved skilled then perhaps Orochimaru would let him extend an offer to join his plans. After all the sannin needed more soldiers for his plans, and he would need even more once he started up that village he was planning on doing next year. Soon the Nations would fear Oto, and the _sound_ of Konoha's destruction would bring it all about.

* * *

><p>"Halt! Show your papers Konoha ninja!" A man in a red outfit with a tan vest shouted as he and three others took up defensive positions at the gate to a large village. The genin all stopped as Kakashi walked forward and slowly reached into a pocket and pulled out a scroll. One of the Iwa ninja jerked his head as an order for one of the others to walk up and examine the scroll. After looking it over he handed it to the captain.<p>

"Their legit taicho. These are the two teams Tsuchikage-sama was informed of." The man nodded before motioning for his men to stand down and return to their posts. He then handed the scroll back to Kakashi and stepped aside.

"Your hotel is straight down the main street on the right side about a block away from the Tsuchikage's building. The Academy is merely a five minute walk from the right of that building and will be identified by a large 'Earth' kanji in bronze for your genin. You are free to explore the village however should a single one of you cause the slightest amount of trouble, all of you will be removed from Iwa by force." The man explained as he grit his teeth at having to allow Konoha ninja into the village, but such was the international laws of the Chunin Exam. Kakashi nodded and motioned for his team to follow as the other jonin led his own genin in. The Iwa men all glared hatefully at Kakashi most of all until their eyes fell on Naruto. Thy gaped for a moment but couldn't comment before they were within the village heading to their hotel. "Did you see that midget by Hatake?"

"Yeah, he looked just like…"

"But there's now way right? I mean the world would've heard by now."

"Unless he's been kept secret…" Their muttering about Naruto continued even as the Konoha ninja went out of sight.

* * *

><p>Iwa was a fairly large village, not as big as Konoha but close. The buildings were mostly built low to the ground and had flat roof tops making it easy for the shinobi population to get from one side of the village to the other. It also made it easier for the Iwa ANBU to follow their targets. Kakashi noted a few and pointed them out to his students. "Ah, see there? We're being watched. Don't worry though, all foreign ninja are going to get the same treatment."<p>

"I'll bet their just hoping we do something bad so that they can kick us out." Koji muttered as Kakashi chuckled.

"Yeah well, can you really blame them? Konoha is their biggest enemy. It must be so painful to see the enemy right in front of you yet not allowed to touch them. I'm pretty sure it's worse since I'm a big face from the last war."

"What face? You can hardly see anything since you cover it up!" Sakuya shot out, trying to lighten the mood. It worked somewhat as they all laughed at the joke. In reality though, Sakuya and Koji were somewhat freaked out by the glares and masked killing intent being sent at them from the locals. They would look at them in curiosity and then once they saw the Konoha symbol those looks would be replaced with hatred. Kakashi received most from the older generation but the kids still received a good share of it. What confused them though was the mini-heart attacks some seemed to suffer when they saw Naruto. What could bring that about? Sakuya snuck a glance at the blonde as they walked to see that while he was looking around at all people, he seemed to be more at ease in the hostile environment than they were. She could even recognize some of the looks he was getting. _'These are mostly just like back home, like they want us to just drop dead where we stand. Naruto-kun, do you really have it this bad back there?' _She thought as she turned to face forward again. Did Naruto deal with these types of looks all the time? She didn't know, and hoped the answer was a no.

"Well, here we are!" Kakashi called out, drawing Sakuya from her internal musings. They stood in front of a modest building that was neither high class nor dirt poor. Walking in, it was easy to feel the tension that rose from Konoha's presence. Kakashi ignored it and walked up to the receptionist, who seemed to be trying her hardest to keep up a smile. "Excuse me miss, we need three rooms and were told we could stay here."

"Y-yes. Tsuchikage-sama already set up two for you. If you want a third, you'll have to pay for it yourself." Kakashi looked back at the other jonin to see him nod so Kakashi gave an eye-smile to the girl.

"That's quite alright. We'll get a third please."

"Of course." She accepted his money before handing over three keys. "The rooms are down the hall. Numbers are on the keys. H-have a nice stay."

"Thank you." As soon as Kakashi and the others walked down the hall her smile dropped and was replaced with a glare at their retreating backs. Smile for all customers her ass, she wanted nothing more than to kick them right out. "Okay team, I'll be staying with my fellow jonin here while each team gets a separate room. So here's the keys and relax. You could go out to explore the village but I highly doubt that would be a good idea so I'd recommend just staying in your rooms and planning what you can for the exams. We've got time since we made it here early. Tomorrow can be used to relax but the day after you all head to the Academy. You remember what the gate guard said right?" Kakashi asked for them to nod. "Okay then. Well, enjoy yourselves. I'm going to take a nap." And with that he walked past to the room him and his colleague rented out and left them on their own. The two teams nervously looked at each other before Naruto grinned.

"Well, I guess we'll just relax in the room since the village hates us. See ya tomorrow!" Naruto grabbed the key from Koji and walked into their room as Kabuto and Koji chuckled at his energy. Sakuya shook her head but followed after him as Kabuto's teammates just rolled their eyes.

"Right. Well, see you guys at the exam." Koji muttered while Kairi gave out a light bark before they both went inside. Kabuto dropped his amused look before nodding to his teammates. This was their time to spy on Iwa for Orochimaru, they weren't about to waste it sleeping.

* * *

><p>"So what are the sleeping arrangements?" Koji asked as he closed the door. It was a simple two bedroom room with a bathroom and dresser for those who stayed a while. Naruto was already on one bed and Sakuya was on the other and he noticed with a tic mark that Kairi had jumped into a large plushy chair in the corner. There was nowhere left to sleep!<p>

"Well I guess you can have the floor Koji-nii!" Naruto taunted. Kairi barked as Sakuya giggled. She then lied down and sighed with a grin.

"And these beds are just sooo comfortable too. Looks like your gonna miss out." Damn it, they were taunting him and he knew it. He grit his teeth but then walked over to Naruto.

"Chibi, move it. I want the bed."

"Hell no! I grabbed it first!"

"If you want your birthday present early, you'll get off. Now." Naruto stopped and stared at him for a moment.

"What's my present?" His birthday was in two days, ironically the very day of the exams. They had decided to have a big party when they got back to Konoha to both celebrate the promotions they were hoping to get and the blonds' birthday.

"Let me have the bed and you can have it." Naruto paused in though before stepping off, however he made sure to block Koji off from the furniture. Koji just grinned though. "Really want your gift huh? Alright here." He quickly unbuckled the gauntlet around his left arm and dropped it into Naruto's waiting hands before hopping around him onto the bed.

"Wait, your Kiba no Makai? Really?" Needless to say, Naruto and Sakuya were both shocked. "But this is part of your fighting style and stuff. And it's a clan treasure you said!"

"So?" Koji shot back with an amused grin as he relaxed on the bed. "I talked to Tou-san before we left about what to get you since I couldn't really come up with anything worthwhile. He just said to give you that since you don't have any elemental techniques."

"But don't you need it for your jutsu?" Sakuya asked. She was actually still in shock that he was giving Naruto a clan treasure and one he utilized himself.

"Not since I learned to do this." Koji gloated as he snapped his fingers with a small application of chakra. Instantly a small fire burst into life over his fingers before he cut the chakra and let it go. "I mastered my elemental manipulation so I can make fire without outside help now. In all honesty I was only keeping the gauntlet to enhance my fire. But I think Chibi could put it to better use since now he won't be limited to clones and traps." Naruto just hooked the gauntlet onto his left arm and stared at it for a moment before giving a small bow to Koji.

"Thank you so much Koji-nii!" Koji just scoffed and ruffled his hair with a grin.

"Whatever. You just take care of it alright? And when you outgrow it, give it back to the clan or give it to your kids. Whichever happens first." Naruto blushed with a subtle glance to Sakuya, happy she was behind him and couldn't see his face as Koji kept his grin up at the sight.

"Okay, that's nice and all but now where's Naruto-kun gonna sleep?" Sakuya asked as she relaxed in the bed again. Naruto walked over to the chair and patted Kairi on the head.

"Kairi, could I have the chair?" The dog licked his hand but then shook her head no. She was already comfortable. "Aww, that means I have the floor!" Koji laughed since the situation was now reversed but Sakuya sighed.

"Naruto-kun, come over here."

"Huh?"

"Come over here." While the boy was curious he did as he was told and walked over to the bed. Sakuya just sighed at how confused he seemed to be before she grabbed him and pulled him down onto the bed next to her. Naruto struggled for a moment before he realized what she was implying and relaxed with a large blush. Koji was trying not to break out into laughter from the bed over.

"Uh Sakuya-chan?"

"Oh just go to sleep Naruto-kun. It's not like it's a bad thing to share a bed with a friend." True but the circumstances were different when one held feelings for the other, not that he would say that. Naruto couldn't even bring himself to look at Sakuya as she held him down next to her. She had noticed him blushing but merely chalked it up to him being embarrassed or nervous about sleeping in the same bed as a girl. When he hesitantly nodded his head she let go and turned over to go to sleep herself. Koji was silently laughing as Naruto still had a blush on his face. Sakuya was also happy she had turned to her side with her back turned to them, it made it easier to hide the small blush she had developed.

Unknown to either of her teammates, Sakuya had started to harbor feelings for the blond. It started as just two orphans being friends with each other and helping where they could but it slowly grew to more. She learned that even though he was orphaned just like her, he actually had a worse time at the orphanage before the Hokage set him up with a pension and apartment. She had never learned why or just how bad he truly had it but had vowed to help him keep happy and that simply meant spending time with the boy. At first she dismissed any thoughts of a romantic relationship with him since he was two years younger than her and she wanted someone closer to her own age but the feelings just grew. It wasn't until their last C-rank mission before the exams where he had saved her from an enemy mercenary they encountered that she had finally accepted the fact that she fell in love with her junior teammate.

She wasn't sure about his feelings but she still wanted to tell him what she felt, she just couldn't think of a good time. At least until she remembered his birthday was coming up. Knowing how Naruto just loved the company and friendship more than any of the gifts he could ever get, she was planning on confessing to him after the party when Koji and Kakashi would be gone. Then their sensei sprung the Chunin Exams on them so her plans got pushed back. But she still figured she could do some extra nice things for the boy before she confessed.

Offering to share a bed wasn't that big but it was better than the floor. Though now she was slightly regretting it. He was right next to her and was practically radiating heat. She didn't know what it was about him but Naruto had always been extremely warm and he could just make people happy by talking with them. Whenever they were at a party or training she took any opportunity to hug the boy, just to get close to that warmth. She couldn't really describe it, she just knew she wanted to be close to its source. Now that said source was right next to her, she was having to stop herself from reaching over and clutching him to her chest. He was just so warm, but this wasn't the place to do something like that.

* * *

><p>"Hey Koji. Are the other two up? I figured we could go get some breakfast and talk a bit before you guys enter the exams tomorrow." Kakashi asked as he greeted the yawning boy that had just left the room. Koji quirked and eye open before looking back into the room and grinning slightly. He pulled back and shook his head before stepping aside and letting Kakashi take a look. Said man gave his student a confused look but obliged and looked inside. Sleeping on the bed was Sakuya with Naruto lying with his head on her chest, both having their arms wrapped around each other. Kakashi smiled before closing the door. "I think we can give them some more time to sleep." Unlike the kids, Kakashi knew about the feelings about both sides. Koji only knew Naruto's and neither knew Sakuya's, but to an experienced jonin the signs were there. Not exactly obvious to everyone but if you knew the kids then it would fall into place. Koji chuckled but followed as Kakashi led him away. They'd make sure to bring some food back afterwards.<p>

After an embarrassing wake up call for the two when Kakashi and Koji came back and found them both still sleeping in the same position the now blushing genin were eating some food that was brought for them while Kakashi made sure to drill them on a few of the strategies they developed. He couldn't give them anything about the test as he didn't know much more than they already did but he figured that didn't matter. They were ready, it was just making sure they felt they were ready and went in prepared. The genin didn't mind though since it kept their focus on what mattered and distracted two of them from the sleeping arrangements at the same time. Though as he left the room Kakashi couldn't resist a joke. "I hope you two don't wear yourselves out before the exams tomorrow."

"Sensei!" Koji was rolling on the floor holding his aching sides as he laughed. The laughter continued even after the pillows were thrown at his face.

* * *

><p>"Alright, you two ready?" Koji asked as he stood in front of the Iwa Academy with Naruto to his left and Kairi and Sakuya to his right. Kairi let out a bark and nuzzled his hand as Sakuya grinned and Naruto just placed his hands behind his head.<p>

"You know it Koji-nii!"

"We've got this in the bag."

"Heh, then let's go show off what we can do!" It wasn't hard to find the appropriate room as it was on the first floor and had other genin walking to it the entire time. However as soon as they entered the room they froze for a moment as killing intent washed over them like a flood. Looking around they saw that almost all of the genin already in the room were glaring at them, especially the Iwa teams that looked ready to kill them where they stood. Koji shook his head and steeled his expression before giving stiff nods to Sakuya and Naruto. While Sakuya returned the nod, she still looked slightly worried while Naruto frowned and did nothing but follow as Koji led them off to one side of the room. "Wasn't expecting so many teams to be here. This may be harder than we thought."

"Yeah and that killing intent, I'm pretty sure it was mostly to try and get us to back out before they began but still. You could just feel the Iwa teams trying to kill us with their eyes." Sakuya commented as she took a few deep breaths. While she wouldn't collapse or freeze up badly from the amount they were hit with, she would be shaken for a moment. Naruto just crossed his arms as he scowled and looked around the room.

"Well they're gonna need more than eyes to take us out. We're the best Konoha has to offer and we're gonna come out on top." Koji chuckled as Sakuya smiled. He was slightly shaken by how much they received just like she was but he was putting up a show to keep the teams confidence up.

"Don't let sensei catch that eye comment. You know he can take us all down with a glance thanks to his Sharingan. Any skilled Uchiha could." Koji shot back.

"Yeah but they're mostly gone now. Didn't their heir kill all but one a few months ago?" Sakuya asked as the mentioning of Uchiha got her memory going. Naruto shrugged but Koji nodded.

"Yeah I remember hearing about that. The heir Itachi went nuts and killed his entire clan save for his little brother before ditching the village. It happened while we were out on that escort mission to Taki. Tou-san was one of the hunters sent to try and track the guy down but there was nothing. That guy was a freaking genius ANBU captain and he's only a year or two older than you and me." He told her. It honestly shocked him that someone could escape the combined efforts of the Inuzuka's best trackers as they had never failed before. "But we don't need to worry about that right now. We need to stay focused for the test."

"As if some trash like you fucking leafies could do anything. Why don't you just go home and hug a tree ya wimps!" One of the Iwa genin nearby shouted as he overheard the last bit of Koji's conversation. Koji growled as Sakuya and Naruto glared at the guy. "Oh I'm so scared…" The man taunted when he saw their looks. Koji just looked to Sakuya and Naruto to see them nod to him, giving him a sadistic grin.

"You better hope we don't fight in the exam stone head, because if we do then I can promise you; this leafie will put a hole in your chest." Koji never liked getting called weak; it was one of the few things that angered him outside of hurting his teammates and family. He was praised as a powerful prodigy back home and was proud of it, but he also made sure to know his limits. When a random stranger would insult him, directly or otherwise, he'd do his best to upstage them. And this genin had just insulted all three of them. Oh yeah, Koji was going to enjoy beating him if he got a chance to.

"Tch, whatever wimp."

"Are you guys trying to kill yourselves?" Came a whispered tone as the three turned around to see Kabuto walk up with his teammates. "I know this is your first time and all but you shouldn't paint a bigger target on your back than we already have just from our headbands."

"Sorry, he just pissed me off a bit." Koji replied, getting Kabuto to sigh.

"Look, you guys need to stay out of trouble if you can. So let me help you out. Yesterday I went around accessing public records that I could get so that we wouldn't all be going in blind. It's not a lot but at least now I know everyone who's in the exam and have a bit of info on them. Here, let me show you." Kabuto quickly pulled out a stack of cards and after shuffling through and a quick glance at the genin Koji and just threatened pulled out a card and channeled chakra to it causing it to light up with stats. "This is the guy you're thinking of fighting. Taijutsu and Doton jutsus mostly, like plenty of Iwa shinobi, but he's got a couple B-ranks under his belt so you should be careful."

"Hey, do you have those on everybody?" Sakuya asked as Koji memorized the info on the card he was being shown, nothing wrong with studying up on an enemy. Kabuto nodded with a slight grin.

"Yeah, how do you think we survive the second portion when our combat skills are always just short of good enough? We know who to target and who to avoid. I was able to dig up stuff on almost everyone, though the info varies from extreme details to just names and teams."

"Could you give us a rundown on the top threats?" Sakuya asked as she looked at the stack of cards he held. Kabuto grinned and nodded, happy to help his kouhai's get through alive if he could. Koji handed back the card he was first shown as Naruto stood watching from the side petting Kairi. Meanwhile as Kabuto was shuffling through and pulling out various cards to show, the other genin were glaring at the Konoha ninja.

"Just look at those fucking tree huggers, acting like they own the place."

"Yeah, well we'll show them when the time comes."

"No damn doubt. But I think we need to send an extra special message."

"Huh?"

"Look at the one petting the dog. Tell me who that looks like."

"What are you…? No fucking way!"

"That's what Otou-sama thought when he saw them walking to the hotel they're staying at. He followed though and is damn positive about it. His sensei is Hatake, the _Senko_'s last surviving student. There's no fucking way that's just a coincidence."

"So what are we gonna do about it?"

"Spread the word to the other Iwa teams. When the fighting starts; we're going midget hunting."

"Got it."

* * *

><p>"Alright, thanks for the info Kabuto." Sakuya had the best memory of the three of them so she was the one who memorized as much about the other competitors as she could. Kabuto had been happy to help and only asked that they hook up in the exams as quickly as possible so that they could get through them together. Naruto was more than happy to agree since it had originally been his idea to do so and Koji wasn't about to leave a fellow Konoha comrade behind if he could help it so there weren't any arguments. They talked a bit with Yoroi and Misumi to try and be friends with them but the others with Kabuto were mostly silent, preferring to focus on the exams and staying alive than to making friends. They were thankful for the small alliance though and hoped that it worked out for all of them in the end.<p>

"Alright gaki's, it's time to start the Chunin Exams un!" Everyone's attention was drawn to the front of the room where a tall blonde teen with his hair styled into a ponytail was. One large bang covered half his face while he wore what was considered the standard Iwa outfit, a red top with one sleeve long and the other short with a tan flak jacket over it. Behind him were ten others in similar outfits. "My name is Deidara and I'm the proctor for the first phase of this test un! As such my word is law and if you break it, I break you." Everyone was paying attention as he let out a spike of killing intent to get his point across. "Good, now the first test is simple. Each team will follow one of my chunin helpers as they take you to a separate room. Inside the room will be one of Iwa's biggest prisoners on death row. Worry not un, their chakra is sealed off and they're tied down to their chairs by heavy chains. As such they're nothing more than paper tigers to even an Academy student. Your task for the first test un, is to get them to tell you the secret password to the second part of the test un. The chunin with you shall watch and when you think you have the right password, tell them and they'll let you know if you're right or wrong." Deidara paused to see if his words had sunken in before continuing. "There are only a few rules that must be followed un. Rule one; you only have one hour to get them prisoner to tell you the password. When the times up, you fail! Rule two un; you can not kill your prisoner or cripple them. Just cause they're on death row doesn't mean you can do what you want to them. Non-lethal and non-crippling torture methods only. Rule three; you only get one shot to tell the chunin the password! If you get it wrong, then you fail un! Info is one of the most important things to being a ninja so you better triple check to make sure it's right before you tell your commanding officer and get your team killed gaki's. That's it for the rules. Send up a member from your squad to get a number and then follow your designated chunin to your prisoner and start interrogating. Remember the rules and don't break them or I'll blow you the fuck up un!" As Deidara finished he took a few steps back and leaned against the wall as the genin began to follow orders. Kabuto wished the younger team good luck before walking off as they merely exchanged glances with each other.

They had never performed an interrogation before. Kakashi always did it with his Sharingan to hypnotize the target into spilling their guts. And even that was rare as they almost never had an interrogation situation come up. Well, this test was already stacked against them. Naruto let out one word that easily summed up their entire situation before Koji left to get a number. "Fuck."


	12. 12 Flashback 3

**Markus89:** I don't agree with that. Honestly, look through the series. Did they ever once seem to treat him differently because of who his father was? Did they ever pause to think something along the lines of 'protecting the Yondaime's son' or 'keep him hidden from Iwa'? Never. In fact, while every fan had guessed the Yondaime was his father long before it was revealed, the only special treatment Naruto got was because of his jinchuriki status and that wasn't good treatment. He was hated and ignored, but not once did anyone ever mention or act like it mattered that he was the son of a Kage. While I doubt many knew, the ones who did didn't treat him any differently. So why would Kakashi and Sarutobi not let Naruto go to Iwa when they didn't give him any other special treatment for any other reason? It would seem suspicious and strange if they did now.

**Good boy-chan:** Yes Haku was a girl in my story. That one sentence you caught must've been an accident. Let me know where it is so I can go fix it.

**TwiliFay:** That will be revealed later. The others of the 'Konoha 9' are for the most part the same as canon with a few differences. Except Hinata of course since the only reason she did so well was to try and prove herself to Naruto. Without Naruto there, she is going to be different. As I've said in other review responses a few chapters ago, she'll be different but still be the kind shy girl Hinata fans love.

**X50:** Sasuke isn't bipolar in my story. He wants respect, but he doesn't want the special treatment. Before he met Naruto he just assumed they were the same thing. Now though Naruto has had time to beat respect into his head so he can tell the difference. Also, what do you mean 'why did I make Haku?'

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12 –<strong> Flashback: The Darkest Day

The first test was simple; interrogate a prisoner for a secret password to the second test. The rules were also just as simple. A one hour time limit. No lethal or crippling interrogation tactics. And you only get one shot to turn in your discovered password. Take too long, do something permanent, or guess wrong and you fail instantly. Simple right?

Wrong.

"Fuck you." The restrained man spat out as blood dripped from his mouth as Koji punched him in the jaw. They had been at this for half an hour and the man was holding up surprisingly well. Then again, it wasn't like Koji, Naruto or Sakuya had any actual interrogation training. The most they had was Sakuya's muscle reading skills, which made her a human lie detector. She could tell if the man was lying the moment he opened his mouth to speak so she would interrupt any lie attempts and Naruto and Koji would take turns beating the man. Professional? Not in the slightest. Did it work? Couldn't say yet. But at least it let the two males get out some pent up aggression towards how the foreign village seemed to hate their very existence. Hell the first thing out of the prisoners' mouth was 'Fuck you, you tree hugging pussies, I ain't saying shit.' Wasn't that helpful?

"You know, we can keep this going for a while longer." Koji told the man. The genin in the other room had made him mad and then the village was kind enough to give him a punching bag. He was cool with the test for now. "If you don't give us the password in time, I think I may just kill you anyways. The most they can do is throw us out for breaking a rule, which since we failed anyways isn't much of a punishment."

"Hey Sakuya-chan, you wanna get a few hits in?" Naruto asked as he waited for his turn to beat the guy. Koji and him had been switching every five minutes while Sakuya simply sat off to the side and watched the guy to tell if he was lying or not. The girl shook her head no but kept her eyes on the man. It wasn't that he was hard to read, it was just that reading someone to tell if they were lying or not was harder than reading and predicting movements in a fight for her. Naruto shrugged but looked back at the man while waiting for his turn. They seriously needed to learn some interrogation techniques beyond 'hit the target until they spill their guts' since right now the only guts he was spilling wasn't the kind they needed.

"Alright chibi, your turn." Koji spoke up as he backed off with a scowl. At first he was fine with just hitting the guy. In fact he was honestly still fine with hitting the guy. But they needed that password if they wanted to pass the test. And since he wasn't saying anything remotely close to a password they had nothing to give to their examiner. They highly doubted 'fuck you' was the password and that was pretty much all he was saying since his opening line. They needed a new approach. As Naruto started beating the man every few seconds when he refused to answer, Koji walked over to Sakuya and sat next to her, as she was standing and leaning against the wall while staring at their victim. "Got any ideas on how to get him to talk?"

"One, but I'm not doing it."

"Seduction? Yeah, I wasn't gonna ask you to do it either." Koji responded quickly. While internally he wouldn't mind seeing Sakuya strip, that just wasn't something he wanted to see with Naruto there since he actually liked the girl. Sakuya blushed slightly at Koji bringing it up but didn't say anything. While seduction wasn't always stripping, it did involve flirting and playing around in a sensual matter with the target, and she wanted none of it. Hell she was still shy on the idea of merely confessing to Naruto and that was someone she actually liked.

"Besides that though, I haven't gotten anything that could get him to talk." They needed something since beating the guy wasn't working. But they had absolutely no idea on what.

* * *

><p>"So that's the password?"<p>

"Without a doubt."

"Should've known since the fucking bomb lover was the proctor."

"Heh, he was? Knew it as soon as we were told to keep the password he'd be involved somehow."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"Look, you better keep your end of the deal here."

"Like we have any reason not to? Don't worry; the _Senko_'s bastard child will be dead at the first shot we get."

* * *

><p>"Ten minutes left Sakuya-chan and he still won't talk. And my hands are starting to hurt." Naruto whined as he stood next to Sakuya while Koji beat the man. They had to give him some respect though, they'd been beating him for almost an hour and he still hadn't said anything that could be a password. Finally Koji stopped and backed off with a growl.<p>

"This is getting us nowhere. We did not come all the way to Iwa just to lose at the first part of the test!" Their prisoner smirked as best he could with a busted lip and bloody mouth. Kairi got up from where she was lying next to Sakuya and walked over to her partner before growling lowly to him. Koji looked down and listened as the dog growled and yipped a bit as if saying something. For an Inuzuka though, it was as clear as human speech. "Oh this is gonna be hilarious. Even if we fail, I'm gonna be leaving with a smile at least." He took a few steps back as Naruto and Sakuya watched in confusion and interest. Kairi trotted right up to the man and growled at him for a second; making him sweat at what the dog would do to him.

* * *

><p>"So how do you think you genin are doing?" Kakashi asked as he and his fellow Konoha jonin were at a bar with a few of the other foreign shinobi. A couple shrugged, some ignored the question while a few grinned.<p>

"My team should be doing fine. I held them back for three years just to ensure they could pass on their first shot." A Kumo jonin called out. Another was about to offer his own input, meaning brag about his team, when something stopped him.

"AHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"

Everyone looked around for the source of the shout but saw that everyone else seemed as confused as they were.

"Well, I wonder what that was…" Kakashi remarked as he pulled out his precious Icha Icha book and started to read. A few nodded their agreement and went back to their drinks while a couple left to see if they could find out.

"Hey Hatake, you read volume two yet?"

* * *

><p>"Oh man, that… that was awesome!" Naruto gasped out as he was laughing on the ground next to Sakuya. Said girl was holding her sides as she laughed herself, though she was still keeping her eyes on the man. Koji was just grinning as he patted his ninken on the head.<p>

"Well, are you going to tell us the password or does Kairi do a repeat trick?" The smirking genin asked. The man glared at the dog but couldn't do anything since he was tied up. As he stayed silent Kairi growled at him some more so Koji let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh well. Kairi, if you would." The dog merely moved closer to the man before he flinched.

"Art is a bang!"

"What?"

"The password! Art is a bang!" The prisoner repeated. Koji looked over to Sakuya who had caught her breath as Naruto was getting back up.

"He telling the truth Sakuya?"

"He believes he is at the very least. I say go for it. It's not like we've got time to get him to say something else anyways." Naruto just nodded his agreement with the girl so Koji turned to the chunin in the room.

"We're going with that for the password." The man nodded and looked at the clock to see they still had a little over a minute left.

"You pass. Go back to the previous room and wait for further instructions." The three grinned and left and as soon as they did the man turned on the prisoner. "You couldn't hold on for another fucking minute? You could've been rewarded for holding back a Konoha team you fucking moron!"

"You try having that dog bite your nuts and tell me if you want a repeat of it!"

* * *

><p>"And times up! Guess you guys from Konoha are the last ones." Deidara called out as the team walked into the room. They just looked around to see plenty of Iwa teams, a couple minor village teams, a team from Kumo and Kabuto's team already there waiting. They quickly walked over to their allied team before turning to Deidara who merely smirked at the genin. "Well, now that you all know what art is, I guess my job is done un. Your next proctor will be here in a few minutes so until then, no fighting or both the attackers and defenders fail instantly. Later gakis!" He yelled out before exploding into some small fireworks. The teams quickly went back to what they were doing before the test started, which either was talking with other teams or focusing themselves on the coming test.<p>

"So how fast did you guys do it?" Naruto asked Kabuto and his teammates. The older genin smirked and adjusted his glasses before answering.

"We were pretty quick. Fourth team finished and in just under twenty minutes. Did you three really have that much trouble with your prisoner?" The younger team all looked sheepish at that remark. "By the way, do you know what that screaming was a while back?" At this, they all brightened and looked down at the ninken on the team, whose tail was wagging happily.

"It's because of Kairi we passed." Koji told them. Naruto started laughing under his breath as Sakuya scratched her behind her ears. "She bit the dude in the nuts." All three older genin cringed at that and took a step away from the dog, getting the younger trio to laugh. "If she didn't, we wouldn't have been able to get the password from the dude."

"I uh… I see. Well… at least you passed right?"

"Alright genin, shut up and pay attention!" Everyone's attention was again drawn to the front of the room where a man seemed to just rise out of the ground. He had black hair that spiked out in multiple directions and wore a brown armored vest over a red shirt that lacked a right sleeve. His headband was also tied around his right sleeve as well. "My name is Gari and I am your proctor for the second round of the Chunin Exams. Everyone is to follow me to the location for your second test." Before anybody could blink he spun around and punched the wall, setting off a large explosion that crumbled it and shook the building. "Well? What are you gawking at genin? Let's move!" Everyone took off after their proctor without a word, a few hoping he wouldn't punch them next.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Iwa's harshest training ground, commonly referred to as the Mount of Pain." Gari spoke to them as he stood on a raised platform with a large mountain behind him. The mountain also had a thick forest over it making it hard to see further than a few feet into it from their current position. "Normally this is a chunin only training ground but since you all want to be the next rank; you have to prove you can handle the harder areas available. Your test is quite simple. You will be sent inside from one of the Mount's many entrances with two goals." He reached into his pack and pulled out a large gold medallion with the kanji for victory engraved on it. "Each team will receive one medallion that must be worn around the neck of one member at all times in plain view. Each team must acquire two more medallions from other teams, one for each member, and then make it to the goal. You may use any means you wish to obtain the other teams medallions; violence, trade, or trickery, it matters not. So long as you get a medallion for each team member you can proceed to the goal. The goal is a large safe house on the other side of the mountain." He then tossed the medallion off to the side where a group of chunin were waiting. "The rules are also simple. Rule one: you have one week to complete this task, starting at noon today. That's a hundred-sixty-eight hours to complete the mission. Rule two: each team member must hold at least one medallion. Meaning you can't have your strongest member hold all of them. On the field, each person is expected to carry their own weight and it's the same here. Rule three: You must have all three team members in healthy battle ready condition when you reach the safe house. If one is too injured to continue on then all three fail. And finally rule four: if you head to the safe house without all three members carrying a medallion or leave the training ground for any reason your team fails." Gari looked over the genin to see if his rules were understood before motioning to the chunin off to the side. "Good, before we can begin though you all must sign a waiver to continue. This waiver simply states that Iwa is not at fault for any deaths and that no action can be taken because of one. If you refuse to sign it for any reason, you cannot compete and neither can your teammates. So come up to sign a waiver and receive your starting medallion. The test starts in thirty minutes!" And with that Gari sunk into the ground again via a Doton jutsu before sprouting back up next to the chunin.<p>

It wasn't hard for Naruto and his teammates to decide so they were quick to head over and sign the papers before grabbing a medallion and following a Tsuchi Bunshin (Earth Clone) Gari made to one of the entrances to the training ground. They decided that their first medallion would be worn by Sakuya, since her fighting style let her dance around attacks so she would be the hardest to hit and take it from. They noticed that they couldn't see any other teams from where they were but they were fine with that. With Koji and Kairi with them, finding other teams wouldn't be a problem for them. They quickly decided they would first find Kabuto's team before working together to gather up medals for each member before rushing to the safe house. Kairi had Kabuto's sent memorized so it shouldn't take long to find them. And they'd take out any other teams they ran across on the way for their medals. If they were lucky they would not only have their medals for their team but two extra for Kabuto's. The Tsuchi Bunshin simply stood at the gate watching before speaking up. "Alright genin, when the Bunshin disperses you begin." It didn't bother waiting for an answer before looking up at the sky and then collapsing into a puddle of mud.

"Let's go!"

* * *

><p>"…and those are the teams that passed the first stage of the exams. If your genin failed you may either wait for your other allied teams within the village or leave now. As for those who passed, you are to wait here for word on whether or not your team passes the second portion of the test." An Iwa jonin read off to the assembled sensei for the current Exam participants. The teachers of the failing teams left to go pick up their students and decide on what to do while the remaining jonin simply ordered drinks for themselves. Before the announcing jonin left the only Kumo sensei left called out a question.<p>

"What's the test our genin are going through now and how much time will it take?" A valid question since they all wanted to know how long they had to wait in the large room. At least it had an open bar on Iwa's tab.

"They are going through Iwa's toughest training ground to gather an item from enemy teams before reaching a safe house on the other side. The time limit is one week and you will be alerted if and when your team passes." The man then quickly left before he could get questioned again so the remaining jonin simply spread out to relax while they waited on their students.

'_Well, it looks like they made it past the first part without a problem. But if the remaining jonin are any indication, there's only eight non-Iwa teams left, counting them. Six teams from Iwa, two from Konoha, and a team each from Kumo, Taki, Suna, Kiri, Yu, and Kusa. If any Iwa-Konoha hate was going to surface, now would be the best time since they can team up and have a six-two advantage over us. And it could be better or worse depending on if other teams get involved and for which side. We're allies with Suna and Taki and Kumo is with Iwa but that doesn't mean much in these exams. I hope they get through this okay.'_ Kakashi thought as he put down an empty glass, somehow drinking the entire thing without anybody seeing him remove his mask. _'Good luck guys. I'm rooting for you.'_

* * *

><p>"Man, those guys were easy." Koji chuckled as Naruto grabbed the medallion off a Yugakure ninja and slipped it over his neck. They had snuck up on the three and smashed them all unconscious with a kunai to the back of the head, blunt end of course otherwise they'd be dead. This made their second medallion in total and only a couple hours had passed since the test started as well. It had taken Koji and Kairi a couple minutes to locate Kabuto's scent but as soon as they did they angled their path to follow and hopefully catch up with his teams. While they were confident in their own ability, and the ability of their comrades, two teams working together was infinitely better than each team going solo. "Alright, let's get a move on to catch up to Kabuto before it gets dark and we have to camp out alright? You good chibi? Sakuya?"<p>

"I'm set."

"Let's just go already Koji-nii." And with that the three took off at a fast sprint again, leaving the unconscious ninja where they lay. Since they didn't have a medallion, it was unlikely that any passing teams that came across them would kill them or even bother them. So there was no need to do anything for them either. It's not even as if Yugakure and Konohagakure had an alliance with each other. Both were neutral to the other so they didn't even feel some lingering village comradeship for the other team. While they liked to do the right thing when they could, this was neither the time nor place for such sentiments.

"So they've got some speed on their hands. And obviously above genin level stealth to sneak up on that team, their leader was supposed to be a sensor."

"Are you sure your card is right Kabuto? That hardly seemed like a sensor to me." Yoroi asked as they watched the three leave the team and continue on there way. Kabuto had made a Tsuchi Bunshin and suppressed everything about himself, even his scent through a few methods Orochimaru had shown him, so that they could rush over and watch the younger Konoha team for a few days before meeting up with them. Orochimaru wanted to know how skilled they were, and if they could be swayed to his cause as Naruto could become a powerful ally and Sakuya was practically a blank slate with her orphan background. And as for Koji, well Orochimaru knew how deadly the Inuzuka could get from the few missions he went on with their members back in his loyal days.

"Perhaps the info was wrong, or perhaps the ninja needed to actively use the technique for it to work. Either way, these fools are weak and not required for anything. Leave them where they lie and let's go. My clone will only last for two days should it not get discovered."

* * *

><p>Clouds had gathered as the night fell. It wasn't much longer after that that the rain began. Koji flipped the hood of his jacket up as Sakuya pulled a cloak out from a scroll she carried. Naruto did the same only it wasn't a cloak he pulled out. "Oh god chibi, I thought we burned all of those things." Koji muttered as Naruto threw on a bright orange jacket, similar to the ones he wore before.<p>

"I kept one for when things got too cold. Well we're in the mountains and now it's raining. So what? I like orange." Naruto shot back. Even Sakuya sighed and shook her head with a frown as Koji face palmed himself.

"Naruto-kun, I thought we got through to you that orange is not a shinobi color, at least not in the amount and brightness you like. A small bit of a darker shade is fine. An entire jacket of 'kill me' neon bright orange is horrible and will get you hurt."

"Awe, but I really like this shade of orange Sakuya-chan!"

"When we get off this mountain I'm burning that thing. Raining or not, win or lose, that thing is ash the second this test is over. You understand?"

"But Koji-nii!"

"Oh let him keep it Koji." Sakuya interrupted. Naruto was about to thank her but then she rounded on him. "So long as you never wear it on missions or out of the village again. Keep that for some casual stuff at home but never for shinobi matters, am I clear?" She ordered with a slight spike of killing intent to the boy. This was honestly the one thing about Naruto she didn't like and that was his fascination with such a bright and ugly color. It partially upset her that she had to threaten the boy but she argued with herself that it was better to break this before he got himself killed. Naruto flinched; killing intent from your love interest would do that to a guy, but nodded his head.

"Yes Sakuya-chan." He replied in a defeated tone. Sakuya and Koji noticed so they decided to brighten him up a bit.

"Oi, don't get all gloomy chibi. You notice we're not stopping you from wearing it now don't you?" Naruto gave a small smile at their care for him and nodded as they kept going. "Now let's find a spot to camp either for the night or until the storm is done. I'm having trouble following Kabuto's scent due to the rain and shit." The other two replied in agreement as they kept running and looking for a good sheltered area for a camp before Naruto noticed a cave further ahead to their right.

"How about up there Koji-nii?"

"That'll work chibi. Let's go. I want out of this fucking rain." The three ran straight towards the (hopefully) dry cave as the storm only seemed to grow in intensity as winds picked up. It hardly took them another five minutes to reach the spot and they were quickly inside to start drying off with Koji pulling off his hood and opening his jacket where the larger dog had been curling up to conserve energy. Kairi hadn't ridden inside Koji's jacket or on his head for a few months but with a week for the test and to find Kabuto, Koji had picked his dog up and placed her in his jacket. The Inuzuka dogs could use chakra but they still had smaller reserves than an actual human shinobi so they wanted to keep them as high as they could in case they got into a fight. The fact she got to stay warm and relatively dry when the rain had started was simply a bonus. "Man I hate the rain. Why's it gotta rain now of all times."

"Maybe the world just wants to piss you off Koji-nii." Naruto shot out while opening his jacket and shaking his head free of some lingering water. The whole time he had a grin on his face, even after the older genin mock glared at him for the jab.

"Ha ha chibi, you're so hilarious." Sakuya wrung her hair out as she adjusted her cloak around herself to keep warm since the cave was somewhat cold. As she listened to the two bicker she let out a small smile but also gave an overdramatic sigh to get their attention.

"Am I going to have to split you two up?" Both boys stopped their playful argument and grinned at her.

"Ah, cool it Sakuya. You know we're fine."

"Yeah Sakuya-chan! Me and Koji-nii wouldn't start fighting now. Not when we gotta be all focused and stuff." Sakuya smiled at the two boys and nodded her head. They got her message. It was time to focus on their plans for the night and then they could start their little spat up again if they wanted. They probably would at some other point in time; as long as it was raining Koji was bound to complain about it just like Naruto was bound to jab at Koji's hate of the weather. Sakuya turned to Koji as he was seen as the unofficial leader of the team. He always had the better plans, though when he required traps he wouldn't even ask what type but rather just specified where and lethal or non- for them. Naruto and Sakuya didn't need any direction in that department. If anything Koji needed help there.

"So what's the plan Koji?" The boy took another look out to see that the storm had picked up but then looked back to his teammates.

"Well first we're going to need to-" His words were cut off by the very distinct sound of metal impacting stone followed by the very light sizzling of a fuse. All three reacted on instinct and leapt out of the cave into the storm before standing back to back in a triangle formation as an explosion went off and collapse the cave they were just in. "Shit! With this storm going on I couldn't smell them coming up! I still can't so stay on guard!"

"Right!" Naruto and Sakuya replied in unison. They heard an annoyed grunt coming from the trees to their right and faced towards it as a taller and older genin walked out from his hiding spot glaring at them. He then glanced to his left and scoffed.

"I told you we should've just waited for them to fall asleep first Jin."

"Well excuse me for wanting to be cautious when they have one of the dog clan's brats that might've smelled us out if we waited too long." Another genin dressed similarly to the first stepped out with an annoyed look at his teammate before turning a glare on the Konoha ninja. "You may as well surrender, we've got you surrounded." Koji narrowed his eyes, as did Sakuya, while Naruto raised an eye-brow in confusion. At least until the other genin came out of their hiding spots. And not the one remaining teammate to the two in front of them, but rather every other Iwa genin still in the exam came out from multiple spots and took up positions around the three Konoha ninja. The younger three all had their eyes widened as they saw they were surrounded.

"Shit… not good." Sakuya muttered as her eyes darted from enemy to enemy. She took a quick glance at Koji and Naruto and saw that they were doing the same. She grit her teeth but then voiced out the only option she could think of to possibly save their lives. "Naruto-kun, take off your medallion and toss it into the crowd. I'm going to do the same. We can't win a fight like this." Koji growled but didn't object as Naruto frowned but took his off and looked at her one final time for her to nod as she took her own off. Naruto sighed but tossed it towards the feet of a couple genin as she did the same. A couple of them laughed as a couple others grabbed the medallions and placed them around their own necks.

"That's nice that you admit you can't beat us all, but that's not what we're here for. At least not entirely." One Iwa genin called out, a kunoichi from the voice. They didn't catch which one had spoken at the moment.

"Fucking old grudges then." Koji ground out through his teeth. Kakashi had warned them about this possibility but assured them it would be a long shot. "Your parents and older ninjas hate Konoha so much and when you all report you killed both Konoha teams in the exams you're gonna be temporary heroes. That's it then? We had nothing to do with those old wars and neither did any of you! So why the hell would you come after us for a grudge that isn't even yours?" Koji shouted out at the genin. A few glared at him while a couple laughed.

"Oh my, don't you think you're smart? But you're wrong." One called out, shocking the three from Konoha. Chuckling again the speaker continued, a man in front of Sakuya. "We want the blond brat. You and the girl can leave. We won't bother you."

"What?" Koji muttered as he shot a glance at Naruto. Said boy was staring straight ahead with wide eyes seeing that the Iwa genin were targeting him specifically. What did he ever do to Iwa? It wasn't like they could even use his pranks as an excuse as he hadn't pulled any in the foreign village. "What could you possibly want with just Naruto?" Koji half-yelled, half-shouted at the surrounding ninja. Sakuya and Naruto both noticed he used the boy's actual name instead of the nickname he gave him; that only happened when things were serious. Then again, being surrounded by Iwa genin after his pseudo younger brother for unknown reasons counted as a serious situation for him.

"Don't worry. We just have a little… gift for him." One chuckled darkly, letting the team know exactly what kind of 'gift' he was talking about. "So go on and leave. You and the girl are free to go." By now Naruto was terrified and kept glancing to his own teammates as much as he kept looking at the Iwa ninja in front of him. Koji and Sakuya both saw this and knew why. He was scared they would leave him. His only two friends in the entire world, and he seemed more terrified at the thought of them leaving than getting killed by the hostile shinobi in front of them all. To be honest it was kind of sweet he was more worried about whether they would leave or not rather than his own life. But now wasn't the time.

"Koji… How many do you have?" Sakuya spoke clearly, getting the attention of the Iwa genin as she didn't sound like someone who was about to ditch her teammate. Koji instantly caught on and answered without hesitation.

"Seven. And I count six teams here so we aren't going to walk away from a fight. Even if one or two are shit, the rest could hit us in the back while we're distracted." He didn't sound like he was about to leave either.

"Don't you stupid fucks get it? Leave the brat if you want to live!" One Iwa genin shouted at the two. Sakuya scoffed as Koji growled.

"Obviously you bastards don't know the first thing a Konoha shinobi is taught." Sakuya shot out.

"And as an Inuzuka, it's ingrained into us before we even start training." Koji added as he reached into his pouch on his back. "Your comrades… your teammates… they are everything to the village!" He shouted as he pulled his hand out and tossed out a few smoke bombs to blind the genin. Before the smoke cleared Koji grabbed Naruto as he led him and Sakuya out and away while the storm continued. With the wind raging, the smoke wouldn't last longer than a few seconds and they needed to make tracks and run as fast as they could. The exam didn't matter anymore. Keeping each other safe was all that mattered. "Sakuya, get your blade out. They'll be on us any second now! Naruto, make some clones! Have them distract them and set up whatever traps they can! I'll keep my senses as sharp as I can to try and warn us of when they catch up!" Koji's orders were followed without hesitation as Sakuya pushed some chakra into a scroll to pull out her double bladed naginata and twirled it for a second before grasping it firmly in her hands. Naruto had made a cross with his fingers and instantly twenty clones popped into existence before they leapt back to try and engage and disable the no doubt pursuing enemy. "What the fuck do they want with Naruto anyways? He hasn't done jack shit to any Iwa ninja in his life!"

"I don't know but we're not letting them have him." Sakuya didn't know either. What was it about Naruto that made him such a target for hate and misery? First the hate and glares back home in Konoha and now an entire enemy village? Why Naruto? What had he ever done to deserve any of it? Sakuya tossed the still slightly scared blond a smile to reassure him that they weren't going to abandon him. "Don't worry Naruto-kun. It doesn't matter what they want with you, we're going to stand with you and keep you safe. Just like you'd do for us. We're a team and we stick together no matter what! Isn't that what Kakashi-sensei taught us?" Naruto looked practically on the verge of tears as he could just feel how much the two cared for him and knew they'd stay with him through thick and thin.

"Sakuya-chan, Koji-nii…" Suddenly his head whipped up as he glanced back worriedly. "Shit! My clones! They're catching up fast!"

"Better, we're here!" A voice shouted out before someone leapt out of the ground in front of them and stabbed at Naruto. The three split to dodge as the genin, a young bald boy, landed and started to leap after Naruto to impale him on the kunai he was holding. "Stand still you fucking _Senko_-wannabe!"

'Senko_? The fuck they calling him a flash wannabe for?'_ Koji thought as a few more genin shot out of the ground to attack him and Sakuya and keep them from aiding their teammate. Koji growled but swiftly moved into one of his clans most recognizable and fastest techniques. Leaping forward he channeled chakra to his nails to extend them into small claws before spinning rapidly, becoming a drill of flesh that rushed towards the closest target. "Tsuuga!" (Tunneling Fang)

"Leave Naruto-kun alone!" Sakuya shouted as she spun the Kagirinai Buyou in her hands and started to deflect the stone kunai that a couple genin were using jutsu to launch at her. She ran forward as she did, intent on closing the distance and killing the ninja up close.

"I said stand still you fucking bastard!" The bald genin shouted as he continued to stab at Naruto, who would always either move just out of the way or substitute with a clone he had made a moment before the attack would connect.

"What the hell did I ever do to you?" Naruto shouted as he ducked under a stab and retaliated with an uppercut with his left. He had forgotten he was given the Kiba no Makai from Koji a couple days earlier so while he was channeling chakra to his fist to strengthen the blow, the gauntlet received the chakra and ignited his punch in flames. The Iwa boy was sent back a few feet as the rain quickly put out any fire that had latched onto him, though his chin had a small burn from the hit. Naruto quickly got into a stance as he pulled out a kunai and held it in reverse grip in his right hand, still channeling chakra into his left fist to keep the fire going once he realized what he did. "Look, I don't know what your problem is with me but I never did anything to anybody from Iwa. I never even saw someone from Iwa until we arrived in the village two days ago!"

"You didn't. But your father took everything from Iwa!"

"Father?" Naruto repeated in confusion. "But I'm an orphan! I don't know who my parents are."

"Well sucks to be you since Iwa does! And we're killing you since we can't get to that fucking bastard!" The genin shouted out before leaping to attack Naruto again. Before he could get close a kunai landed between them with an explosive tag attached to the end. Both leapt back as it exploded. When the smoke cleared Naruto's teammates were standing next to him, slightly bloody but still ready to fight. The bald boy looked around and saw that neither had managed to kill the other genin but they had hurt them far more than they had been hurt.

"That's it, no more playing around. Kill the fuckers now!" One genin shouted as the rest of the Iwa ninja finally caught up with the fight. Hand seals were being flown through by multiple genin as each then quickly called out a different jutsu, launching out fire, earth, and even a few water and lightning techniques at the three. Naruto, Koji and Sakuya dodged what they could though all three still took a few hits and were slammed away from each other from the colliding jutsus. Naruto stumbled to his feet breathing hard as Sakuya used her weapon as a crutch to stand. Koji was on his hands and knees as the Iwa shinobi drew kunai out. He saw where they were all aiming and reacted before he even thought about it.

There was the sound of metal digging into flesh as Sakuya screamed and Naruto stood wide eyed.

* * *

><p>"Well, the first days just about done." Kakashi was still drinking with his fellow jonin as they waited for news about their teams. As he reached for his cup though he noticed something. It had chipped just as he touched it. Kakashi knew he didn't use enough strength to do so meaning he didn't known what caused it. He wasn't one for superstition but considering the circumstances he still found himself worrying about his team. <em>'Naruto, Sakuya, Koji… please be alright.'<em>

* * *

><p>"K-Koji-nii… you…" Naruto stuttered out, still not believing his eyes that showed him a sight he never would want to see. Sakuya stood off to the side with wide eyes and tears at the edges as looked right where Naruto was looking. Standing in front of Naruto with his back to the boy was Koji. He had leapt in the way of the kunai the Iwa genin had launched at the blond. Koji coughed as some blood dropped out of his mouth.<p>

"Get out of here! Run!" He ordered in a weak voice. He knew he wasn't going to make it. One had definitely pierced a lung and he believed another may have nicked his heart. It was a miracle he could still stand and talk but he wasn't about to waste it. "Sakuya, Naruto… go now! Just please… take care of Kairi for me." The boy dropped to his knees as he coughed up some more blood. The pain was just getting to be too much. "Heh… fitting isn't it? I hate the rain… and now I'm finished under it." The teen dropped onto his face as his breathing stopped. Naruto stared in horror at his older brother figure that was lying dead at his feet. He stumbled back a few steps as he looked, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Koji-nii!" He shouted, hoping it was just some very cruel and badly timed joke from the elder boy. Koji couldn't be dead, he just couldn't. They all promised to come back to Konoha as legends. They were going to sweep the exams and become chunin and then go on to be the best ninja the village, no the world had ever seen. He couldn't be dead after all they had promised each other. It wasn't possible.

The Iwa genin didn't bother saying anything but just launched more jutsu at the boy. An earth dragon struck him hard in the chest and sent him flying back and away from the dead ninja as Sakuya rushed after to try and help Naruto. Tears were streaming down her face but she knew Koji wouldn't want them to die there. His last words to them were for them to run. She wasn't going to fail that order. She was going to run straight to Naruto and then run as far and as fast as she could with the blond to the edge of the training ground and leave. Fuck the exams now. Without Koji they failed anyways so what would be the point in trying to complete the test?

Naruto gasped in pain as he landed from the rough hit and slowly tried to stand. Despite being in mortal danger, his mind couldn't stop replaying Koji jumping in front of him to take the kunai. He knew he had to fight in order to run, but his body was still in shock from his best friend and brother figure dying in front of him. For him no less. Naruto channeled a small bit of chakra into the gauntlet, igniting it before slashing the air like he had seen Koji do multiple times before. A small jagged wave of fire flew out and knocked a couple genin away but others picked up the slack and punched him in the side and back, making him stumble forward before another grabbed him by the throat and tossed him to the ground a few feet away. "I think we've dragged this out long enough."

Just as the genin was about to grab a kunai to attack with his hand was sliced off by a blade. He screamed in pain before leaping back clutching the hand to his chest. Naruto looked up to see Sakuya standing next to him with her weapon at the ready. She twirled it around to deflect a couple shuriken that were thrown as she stood her ground. "Get up Naruto-kun! We have to get out of here!"

"Sakuya-chan…" Naruto shook his head before standing up. He quickly brought his hands up into a cross seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" With a large blast of smoke hundreds of clones leapt out in every direction to attack every Iwa genin they could find. Meanwhile the real Naruto grabbed Sakuya's hand as they both ran off from their enemies. The Iwa shinobi didn't know what hit them. All they saw was multiple copies of the orange wearing blonde before having to do their best to block and dodge their stabs and attacks. As the clones fought off the genin and Sakuya ran with the real one, hardly anybody noticed two of the Iwa ninja sinking into the ground. "What're we gonna do Sakuya-chan? Koji-nii is…"

"Naruto-kun." Sakuya looked down at the boy as they ran, seeing the tears falling from his face. The boy couldn't help it and Sakuya couldn't blame him, just barely holding her own back. Their teammate and closest friend for over a year had just died. If things weren't so dire she would've stopped them and tried to console the boy better, but they didn't have time for that. She looked ahead as she tried to think of what to do or where they were going, only idly noticing that Koji's ninken Kairi hadn't been with them since Koji leapt in front of Naruto. "Naruto-kun, where's Kairi?"

Naruto looked around, not knowing that the dog had been left behind somewhere, before tripping and falling down as he hadn't been paying attention and his vision was blurred from his tears. Sakuya was quick to stop and move back to him but he just got to his knees before looking down. "It's all my fault."

"What?"

"Koji-nii… the Iwa people… it's all my fault." Naruto sobbed out. "If I wasn't here then those teams would've left you guys alone. Koji-nii wouldn't be dead." He shook his head for a moment before continuing. "You… you should just leave Sakuya-chan. They won't come after you then. Just go find Kairi and get out of here." Naruto didn't bother looking up at what he was thinking was likely an angry face. And he was right, Sakuya was angry. Just not for the reasons he thought. However neither got to think on their talk any longer as they heard a voice cry out a jutsu.

"Doton: Doryuso!" (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears)

Sakuya saw the spears of stone rising and quickly saw that their target was once more Naruto. "Naruto-kun! Move!" The blond felt himself get shoved to the side before looking back and seeing his greatest nightmare. Sakuya was impaled on one of the spears, driving a hole straight through her stomach. The two genin that had escaped underground leapt out behind Naruto but he didn't even notice as a wave of red charka blasted them away.

"Sakuya-chan! NO!" Naruto scrambled to his feet and rushed over to the girl before gently lifting her off the spear and lying her on the ground. "Sakuya-chan… please don't…" The girl smiled lightly as she could feel she was going to die. With that knowledge she decided on her last words to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun… I wan-wanted to wait… until your birth… day party to t-tell you… this b-but I guess I d-don't have… a choice." Naruto knelt down by her as her voice was getting weaker by the second. She gently raised a hand to his face as the tears poured from his eyes. "Naruto-kun I… I love you." She closed her eyes as her hand dropped, leaving the stunned boy staring at her serene expression.

_'She-she loves me?'_ Naruto thought before gently grasping her shoulder and shaking her lightly. "Sakuya-chan..? Sa-Sakuya-chan?" His voice got shakier as there was no response. In the back of his mind he noticed the two Iwa genin stepping up to kill him and that his clones were all defeated with only a couple actually killing their targets. Naruto stumbled back as he kept staring with wide eyes at the dead girl that he had loved. "No…" The Iwa genin raised kunais to strike. "No..!" Neither wasted time as they brought them down at Naruto's head. "NO!" Only to be blasted back again as the boy seemed to explode into a pillar of red chakra.


	13. 13 Flashback 4

**X59: **Why did I make Haku a chick? No particular reason I guess. I just felt like a girl Haku would work better in the long run than a boy Haku so I went with femHaku for the story. Haku plays a minor role and won't be seen again until the Shippuden years but then her role picks up a little. And after a bit of thought, femHaku seemed better than having him be one of the guys. That simple.

**Anonymous called 'Reviewer': **The civilians and the village probably would have treated him differently if they knew, but they didn't know. And the Hokage obviously had to know and Kakashi showed that he knew after the fight with Pain/Nagato, yet they NEVER gave Naruto any special treatment.

**Authors Note: **Personally I think you should look up _Falling Inside the Black _by Skillet and set it on repeat throughout the whole chapter. It fits my Naruto very well in my opinion, especially this chapter.

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><p><strong>Chapter 13 - <strong>Flashback 4: The Kurai Kitsune rises.

Kakashi knew something was wrong the moment the chakra could be felt by the village. He knew its source and knew he had to go and stop it the moment it spiked. And he knew, there was absolutely nothing he could truly do either as the spike rose in strength until it was a veritable maelstrom of demonic power. His fellow Konoha jonin knew as well. Everybody that went up against the source was pretty much dead. Save for the Tsuchikage. Maybe. They weren't entirely sure who would come out on top if he challenged the holder of the vile and evil power. At best he may be able to do a repeat of the Yondaime Hokage and put it temporarily out of commission.

All these thoughts though paled to Kakashi's concern for his three students. The moment the power was felt, just about every jonin waiting for news on their team could tell where it came from and had pretty much said fuck the rules to go and save their students. A few were making remarks that it had to be a jinchuriki and the Iwa jonin had sworn that both of Iwa's were currently out of the village on separate assignments. That meant it was a foreign ninja in the exams. So all the jonin rushed to get their students to safety, with the knowledge that one was also going to try and subdue his or her student. Kakashi and Hodo played up the confused and worried act as they didn't want to admit what they already knew. Both were there eleven years ago and felt the chakra before. The vile, angry and downright evil feeling that came with its chakra. The Kyuubi no Yoko.

What could've happened to the seal? What was going on with their students? Could they somehow subdue a rampaging jinchuriki without killing it or getting killed? Could they do it without revealing it was a Konoha shinobi? These thoughts were in the back of their minds as they ran with other jonin towards the testing grounds to locate and rescue their students. With something like this the Exams would be changed anyways, possibly cancelled even, so it didn't matter anymore.

'_Naruto, Sakuya, Koji… please be okay.'_

* * *

><p>"What the hell is this?" One of the genin yelled as he landed beside his Iwa brethren. Most had gotten caught up by clones, though only two had died. While on the other hand a couple had escaped the barrage and went off to get the escaping blond. Then not even ten minutes later a large source of strange chakra shoots up making a literal pillar of red power and they rush to see what's going on. They were positive that the other teams were running either to or from this power as it was impossible to miss, even for non-sensors!<p>

"I don't know! We killed the bitch but then the kid exploded in this weird chakra!"

"Run." One spoke up, staring at the pillar of power that had yet to die down in complete fear. A couple others looked at her in shock or confusion but she just ignored them and turned to run. "I am not facing an angry jinchuriki! None of us are on that fucking le-!" Her words were cut off as a large red claw burst through her chest. They all turned back to see that the pillar was gone now. Instead there was a figure about as tall as the blond had been. It was human shaped, covered in what looked like a mix of that same red chakra as well as blood. It had strange pointed ears and was hunched over on all fours, save for the extended arm that had stretched to impale the kunoichi twelve feet away from it. Its eyes were glowing white circles and its mouth was a glowing curved grin of the same color. But neither of those got their attention. What got their attention was the strange bones that lied over the figure like a skeletal armor, reminiscent of fox bones they noted, and the tails growing out behind the creature. Six flowing tails made of the same chakra and blood mix waved behind it freely in the wind that was starting to die down, though the rain continued.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

"Did she say jinchuriki?"

"You mean like Roshi-sama or Han-sama?"

"Shit! Kill it now!" The Iwa genin were in a panic now at their foe, some turning to run with others flowing through hand signs. The creature just growled as it retracted its arm from the girls' chest before looking at their terrified expressions. Three dragons made of earth sped out of the surround ground to try and crush the red figure but its eyes seemed to glow brighter for a moment as sit took a deep breath. Just as the dragons were about to collide with their target it let out a loud roar, the resulting shockwave of power not only destroying the dragons with ease but sending the Iwa genin to the ground. Yeah, forget fighting. They needed to run.

But the jinchuriki wasn't about to let them.

With another roar it slammed its arms down and dug them into the ground. Before any of the Iwa genin could react, multiple claws of dark chakra and blood sprang from the ground and rushed for each of them. A couple were lucky enough to get away. The rest were either crushed or dragged forcefully underground where the hole they had been pulled into work erupt in blood barely a moment later. It tried to catch the survivors like this for a couple more minutes before the claws all retracted and it pulled its hands up. They thought it was over and that it had used up its chakra until they all noticed the same thing.

Its smile never left its face.

It tilted its head to the side and seemed to take a step forward before it vanished from sight. A scream made them look to the right to see one of their own impaled on four tails. The other two wrapped around the genin's head and feet before the four inside tore him in half with sheer strength. There were only five genin left and the jinchuriki hadn't even been touched yet. They knew they stood no chance. So they did the only thing available to them. They split up and fled. There was no point in trying to kill the blond anymore. He was apparently a jinchuriki and had lost himself to his demon. Not only that but they didn't know how much power he held. Iwa held the Gobi and Yonbi, five and four respectively. However this boy was at six, a full tail higher than either of them. And he still didn't look like he was doing a full transformation meaning either he had perfect control or he could go higher still. They doubted the control theory since the boy hadn't used the demon's power on them in the fight earlier. Which meant he could go to higher levels still. That left seven to nine. It was well known that eight was a celebrity and renowned Kumo shinobi, so the Hachibi was out. So it was either seven or nine, and they didn't know which but either one was horrible news without their jinchuriki or Tsuchikage to defend them.

And to think when they first started chasing after the kid he seemed like a weak nobody that had to rely on his older and better teammates.

They split in five separate directions, each hoping to survive. Maybe alert a chunin or jonin of the situation if they managed to get free of the monster they had unknowingly unleashed and angered. The jinchuriki watched with a curious expression before turning to the closest one and vanishing in a burst of speed. The other four heard a scream of pain and horror but didn't dare look back or slow down. Rather they sped up to hopefully not be considered the closest and next target. Iwa ninja didn't care for their teammates as much as other villages. It was mostly just to increase success rates that they were paired together anyways. All an Iwagakure shinobi cared for was success and power. If you had one but not the other, then you were barely useful. If you had neither, you were just as bad as a civilian. If you had both though, you were a respected and feared ninja of the village. And right now it was finding one of those ninja that was the genin's only hope.

Another scream ripped out through the trees.

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><p>Gari had been an Iwa jonin for at least ten years. He had passed the Academy not as the top but close to it. He had a precious bloodline that was exclusive to Iwa called the <span>Bakuton<span>. (Explosion Release) He and his cousin Deidara had both reached jonin around the same time and both thought that nothing was more beautiful than the blast of fire and smoke an explosion gave off, though Gari wouldn't go around blowing any random thing up calling it art. He had worked alongside both of Iwa's jinchuriki at some point during his career and even felt what it was like when they tapped into their biju's chakra. It was dark and screamed of bloodlust to a point. But that was expected of power coming from literal demons. This feeling though, this evil and vile feeling that screamed bloodlust and suffering to the highest extent… this was far worse than what both of Iwa's jinchuriki were capable of making. It held the same demonic feel, just cranked up to impossible levels. Gari had instantly known some foreign village had brought a jinchuriki since he knew it was too dark and powerful for either of Iwa's. So he sent out two ninja, one to go get the Tsuchikage and get orders and the other to go get the remaining sensei's here. If they were told to step in and save the genin, he wanted all the back up he could get since a jinchuriki, no matter the level or rank, was not to be taken lightly. If it turned out the genin had total control it would be one thing, but the screams that echoed over the mountain sang a different tune.

The ninja he sent to their leader reported back first with his orders set in a scroll. Gari quickly grabbed it and opened it up to read as the other shinobi he sent out returned. "What of the genin sensei?"

"They're already on their way here and should arrive in less than six!"

"Good. Tsuchikage-sama has decreed that bringing a jinchuriki to the Exams without forewarning can be taken as an act of war. As such we are to wait for the arriving teachers and question them about their students. We are to wait until Tsuchikage-sama himself and a band of jonin and ANBU arrive before we head in to subdue the threat. Should it subside before they arrive, we are to do nothing but drill the foreigners for the jinchuriki's identity." The two snapped off a salute at the orders before rushing to grab the other chunin proctors were waiting so that they could all be ready. Silently Gari hoped it was Konoha that brought the jinchuriki and that it had gone rogue. The leaf nins always did make the nicest explosions.

* * *

><p>He had heard four screams since they had split from each other. He knew he was the last one left. On his run he had dashed past a scared Kumo team. He had shouted 'jinchuriki' over his shoulder hoping to warn his village's allies but at the same time he dared not stop in fear of getting caught and killed himself.<p>

How did it all come to this? He had heard from his father than there were Konoha teams in the exams, two in fact. His father had promised him an A-rank jutsu for each Konoha ninja he killed. The boy promised happily to get them all. Then his father said one was a carbon copy of Iwa's most hated foe the _Kiiroi Senko_. If he managed to bring his father that boy's head, he would give him three A-ranks and would support his decision to marry some civilian girl that he had been dating for a year. His father never liked that he fell for a non-kunoichi and was always quite vocal and adamant that he should dump her and get with a 'real' woman. So hearing him promise even more jutsu and to let him be with his love for the head of some flash look-a-like was just more reason to kill the child. While he had nothing against Konoha personally, a rarity in Iwa, he wanted to do his father proud. And then one of his teammates noticed the kid and made a plan for all Iwa teams to converge and gang up on the Konoha ninjas at the first shot they got. They would mainly target the blond and let his teammates go since it would send a better and stronger message of Konoha's stupidity and weakness if they killed someone who looked to be the hidden son of their Yondaime Hokage. Plus all he cared about was killing this kid so that his father would be happy and let him be with his girl. The kid's teammates were just harmless bonuses in his mind. Go after them if they wouldn't agree but leave them alone if they did. He didn't doubt a few others from the Iwa genin that made it would try and get them later anyways so he didn't care.

But then everything went to hell. Their original ambush plan didn't work, the blonde's teammates refused to abandon him in true Konoha fashion, and then they got a difficult fight on their hands. It didn't take long for their superior numbers to force one down, by him taking a blow for the blond even. Then the blond got annoying with clones and he had to fight off three at once. It took him a bit of time but just has he finished they all felt this evil power and could see a pillar of red energy that they assumed was chakra. And everything went to hell from there. He had started running the moment his teammate was impaled by that _things_ claw. There was no way that was human anymore. He had also chosen to run in the opposite direction of it since he had been behind it when it killed the girl. He was pretty sure that was the only reason he was still alive. The evil feeling was still in the air which meant that the thing was still alive and looking for him. At least he thought it was looking for him. It could've been looking for someone else to kill considering the feeling of pure murder and death in the air. He hoped it wasn't chasing him down but still ran as if it was right behind him.

After a bit more running he could see the metal fence in the distance that closed off the area as a training ground. If he passed that he instantly failed but who cared? Surviving was all that mattered and his team was dead anyways. Good riddance to one of them being an off-hand thought that passed through his mind. The boy smiled as he got closer to the fence. Once he officially 'failed' by disqualifying himself he'd be safe since that monster wouldn't be able to touch him without having to go through the chunin and jonin running the Exams. "I'm gonna make it…" He breathed out before the oppressive felling in the air seemed to intensify. It was his only warning before something struck him in the back and he was sent flying through the air, crashing down right next to the fence. Whatever hit him, he couldn't feel his back or anything below it anymore. He was scared to look down at his legs for fear that they might've been gone rather than just paralyzed or numb. Instead he just reached out for the gate and screamed for help as he heard footsteps behind him. The feeling was growing stronger with each step the thing behind him took. The boy was crying now as he knew what was behind him and knew he was doomed if someone didn't come to help him soon. He screamed out for help louder as he continued to reach for the fence that was just out of his reach. Tears were rolling down his face now as he could feel the creature taking its time to reach him. It knew he was going to die so it was going to drag it out, like a cat playing with the mouse before killing it. And it wasn't hard to tell who was what in this situation.

"It came from over there!" The boy smiled as he heard voices coming from the other side of the fence. He could vaguely through his tear filled eyes and fear stricken mind see the recognizable outfit of an Iwa jonin leading various other figures towards him as he continued reaching for the fence. That was when the footsteps of the creature behind him stopped. Perhaps it saw the coming shinobi and knew he was pretty much off limits now without disqualifying itself, if it could even think at that high level. Then again its teammates were dead too so it failed as well, meaning it wouldn't matter if it did something to get disqualified since it already failed like him. That was when he felt the burning hand on the back of his head and paled. "There it is!" The boy recognized the voice and lead figure as the jonin Gari, the proctor to the second exam.

"Help!" The boy whined pitifully before the pressure on his head increased and the pain became too much. He screamed before feeling the clawed fingers of the hand dig through his skin and skull to pierce his brain. His last coherent thought was what would his father think of him being killed by a monster from Konoha.

"Damn!" Gari swore as he and the other jonin gathered, most foreign though a few were Iwa shinobi. They were too late to save the one crying for help. The boys head had literally exploded from the crushing grip of the jinchuriki behind him. Looking over the young demon container Gari was able to quickly deduce the village it owed allegiance to. _'Fox bones meaning Kyuubi. Last words of it going around that one were of the Yondaime Hokage killing it but that's bull. You can't kill a biju meaning that was the cover for making its jinchuriki when it appeared. Meaning the culprit is a Konoha ninja. Good, then I don't have to hold back.' _Gari held up a hand as the other ninja stopped behind him. The Tsuchikage had taken a few of their other shinobi, even a couple ANBU, and rushed into the training grounds to try and find the jinchuriki. It was likely they would be here any second as well. "Stand down, jinchuriki! This is your only warning!" The Tsuchikage had ordered him to give the demon a chance first, they had to try and be diplomatic or the entire situation could be spun around to make it their fault. With multiple jonin behind him, some of other villages, he could truthfully claim he gave it a chance first and have the story backed up. If it refused to stand down then Gari and the other Iwa shinobi had free reign to use force while the other jonin were free to rush in and try to find or save their students. Only Iwa and the jonin from the jinchuriki's home village were allowed to confront the demon possessed shinobi.

The jinchuriki tilted its head as it ignored the headless and bloody mess at its feet. For a second the shinobi thought it would accept as it seemed to look at its claws and the grin dropped for a moment. However that passed when the grin came back full force and it dug its claws into the ground and more erupted around the jonin. Gari hid his own smirk as he and the other gathered jonin dodged the chakra claws and landed away safely. "Iwa shinobi with me! The rest of you go find your students! But stay if this one is from your village." Gari knew the Konoha ninja would stay so he wasn't surprised when the two did as the rest ran off. Kakashi had moved his headband up revealing his Sharingan before turning to Hodo.

"Please, go find you students and my other two. I'll try and help subdue Naruto." The man nodded and leapt off, the Iwa shinobi allowing him as they now knew exactly who to blame. Of course it would be a student of the great copy ninja. The Iwa shinobi scowled at the white haired man before turning their attention back to the jinchuriki who actually seemed confused that people had dodged its attack. After all few of the others it killed had been able to do such a thing yet all of the jonin had. It slowly retracted its claws from the ground and got into a ready position on all fours as it growled at the surrounding ninja. Kakashi took a few steps forward holding his hands up. "I don't want to hurt you Naruto, but you need to calm down. Whatever threat caused you to tap into Kyuubi's power is gone now so calm down. I'm sure Sakuya and Koji wouldn't want to see you like this." Kakashi tried reasoning first, though he wasn't sure how well it would work. Especially since Naruto didn't even know he was a jinchuriki in the first place. He must've been running on pure instinct since tapping into the power on accident. Or perhaps the demon itself took over for reasons of its own. Kakashi wasn't sure but felt that reason was the best thing to start with. And not from some random Iwa shinobi he wouldn't know but from a familiar face and voice. Maybe with a couple familiar names to help bring Naruto's senses back to the forefront.

The Kyuubi-fied Naruto didn't seem to pay much attention to what Kakashi said until he mentioned Sakuya. His head dropped down as if in recognition before the power and feeling of death seemed to spike to new levels. Naruto began to growl loudly as he raised his head and glared at the Iwa shinobi surrounding him. Kakashi took a step back at the look as it went from a glare to a sadistic grin, the same grin it he had when he killed the genin they saw. Without warning the boy vanished, appearing behind one of the Iwa jonin. The man tried to spin around to counter whatever Naruto would do but only managed to turn and get impaled in the side. The man screamed in pain before Naruto threw him to the side without any care and threw his arm out at another shinobi, causing to stretch as it raced to grab another victim. Gari leapt in the way and reared back a glowing fist.

"Bakuton: Bakuken!" (Explosion Release: Explosive Fist) He punched the outstretched claw with his fist causing an explosion that sent it back to Naruto. The demon powered boy merely spun with the momentum of the attack and redirected his claw to another jonin who was grabbed before he could respond. Naruto roared as he pulled the jonin in and speared them on two tails while sending the other tails out to attack others. Gari grit his teeth at the sight before readying another jutsu while Kakashi stared in shock at what his student had become.

* * *

><p>"It hurts."<p>

The area was dark and wet. It looked like the inside of a sewer with water dripping from pipes along the ceiling. The walls were even cracked in some areas. The water on the ground only adding the moisture and depressing scene.

"It hurts."

Naruto didn't know where he was nor did he care. He was on his knees in a large chamber clutching his head as he faced the ground with closed eyes. Tears fell freely, mixing in with the water that was just short of waist level on him. Not that he noticed. His jacket was open and all that was flying through his mind was the deaths of Koji and Sakuya, and the pain in his heart from them.

"It hurts."

In front of him as a large metal cage, held closed by a single sheet of paper with the word 'seal' written in kanji on it. Behind the cage was a large fox, a deep and dark orange, almost red, in color. Its eyes were blood red with black slit pupils. Behind it was not one tail but nine, each curled around it as it stared down at the crying boy in front of the cage.

"Make it stop."

The mighty Kyuubi no Yoko, named Kurama by the Rikkudo Sennin, didn't really know what to make of the situation it woke up to. It was passing the time by sleeping, as it normally did when suddenly it felt a large pull on its chakra. It woke up and found the boy crying in front of its cage simply repeating two phrases. 'It hurts' and 'Make it stop' being all he could get out of the boy. So instead it had delved into the most recent memories of the boy to find out what happened and saw. The loud a headstrong child he called a brother had taken a mortal blow for him. That was the first cause of his pain. Then the girl he loved not only took a different fatal blow for him, but she confessed that she loved him as well and then died. While Kurama was a mighty demon and cared little for humans or what they cared for, even it found the girls' death cruel in that she died before the boy could tell her he felt the same for her. When that happened the boy gave in to his anger at the Iwa ninjas and had subconsciously drawn on far more of its power than the boy could control. It was only the fact that his anger was focused on Iwa that stopped him from lashing out on every living thing due to the bloodlust that came with its power. With a bit of focus Kurama could see what was happening outside the boy's mind in the real world and saw something that both made the great beast proud and angry.

Naruto had become a total killing machine that slaughtered everything he deemed a foe, which was any who wore the symbol for Iwagakure. This was good, as Kurama liked that the boy was killing with ease. It would make a possible escape all the easier. But it also made him angry that the boy could and would do all of this without even knowing what he was doing. One thing he always secretly liked about the boy was his never say die attitude. But this, while a magnificent slaughter, was just him giving up and giving in to his anger and inner darkness. Had the boy not been his jinchuriki, nothing truly damning would have come of it. But since he was, there were consequences to doing so.

"Make it stop."

So Kurama had been trying to decide on what to do. On one hand, the beast could try and push Naruto further into using its power, hence making a possible escape for freedom. On the other, Kurama could try and comfort the boy that had one of the cruelest of fates thrown on him unwillingly. A demon it may be, but a demon with a heart at the very least. Kurama had simply been silent and watched what was happening in the outside world as it tried to decide on its course of action. Seeing the boy crying in front of its cage had been slightly amusing at first but now was just getting annoying. Kurama silently sighed as it made up its mind. It would go for freedom, which would also kill the boy. But at least this way he could be with his loved ones rather than live the rest of his life mourning them.

"**I can make it stop child." **Naruto flinched at the deep and dark voice but still kept crying and kept his head down. **"I can take away all the pain you feel. I can even reunite you with your brother and the girl you love. I just require something from you in return."**

"What?" Naruto cried out as he raised his head. He saw the great demon but didn't care. It was offering a way to fix everything so it may as well have been Kami-sama to him. "Please! I'll do anything! Just make it stop hurting!" Kurama hid a flinch at the desperation and sadness in the boy's voice. It almost could feel regret for what it was about to do.

"**Simply entrust your heart to me child and I shall make sure you never feel such pain again."**

* * *

><p>Gari ducked as Naruto lashed out with a claw swipe over his head. The boy had proven to be very dangerous and highly skilled in combat. He and Kakashi were the only ones left from the original group that confronted the jinchuriki. Gari had been able to use his Bakuton to hold the claws and tails back while Kakashi's Sharingan was letting him dodge with ease. Though the white haired jonin had yet to launch a true attack at the boy, instead trying to catch him in a genjutsu to suppress him and put him unconscious nonviolently. The Iwa jonin cursed as he leapt back to try and take the child down. He had orders, he was to stop the jinchuriki at all costs if it proved to not have control over itself. Considering it was attacking its own sensei, there was no control there to be had. So he had to stop it, whether through fatal means or not mattered little. As long as the boy was stopped before he could rampage inside the actual village of Iwa rather than the training ground they were in.<p>

'_I've just got to hold on until Tsuchikage-sama gets here with the other chunin and jonin he brought. Then we'll be able to kill this beast!' _Gari thought as he went through the hand signs for a Doton jutsu. It didn't matter if he was possibly adding more to Kakashi's arsenal of jutsu, whether the man knew the jutsu or not wasn't known, all that mattered was protecting his village and obeying his Kage. "Doton: Doryudan no Jutsu!" (Earth Release: Earth Dragon Projectile Technique) A small brown dragon head rose from the ground next to him and opened its mouth as it began launching multiple small but powerful mud balls at the enraged demon boy. Naruto waved his claws in front of him to block and destroy most of the bullets but missed three which sped past and struck him hard in his face, launching the possessed boy back. He crashed into the ground a few feet away but merely growled as he stood back up, ignoring the fact he was just hit. Whether or not he even felt any pain from the attack was up for debate. But judging from the spike in chakra and glare being sent at Gari, he was willing to believe the blast had caused some kind of damage. Gari was sweating but then noticed something behind the jinchuriki. It seemed the cavalry had arrived.

"Doton: Gunjin Hakaisha!" (Earth Release: Battlefield Destroyer) Came the shout of at least four other men as the ground beneath Naruto seemed to open beneath him. Before the boy could fall in the newly created hole it launched hundreds of stone spears straight up that set him flying into the air where the Tsuchikage had already flown ahead to meet him.

"Doton: Kengan no Jutsu!" (Earth Release: Fist Rock Technique) He called out as his left fist was covered in heavy stone. With a mighty yell he swung down and punched Naruto back into the spears, causing him to crash into the hole they came out of as the rubble from the spears his body broke during the fall covered him. Ryotenbin no Onoki (Onoki of the Both Scales) flew down and landed near Gari and Kakashi while rubbing his lower back. "Ah my back…" He muttered as the other shinobi all came and stood by him. Shaking his head, the short Kage looked between Gari and Kakashi before turning to his jonin. "Report! What happened before we arrived?" Gari snapped into a salute instantly while Kakashi's eyes were focused on the debris covering the hole Naruto was buried in.

"When we came upon the jinchuriki it had just killed one of our genin before we could stop it. I ordered it to stand down but instead it attacked us. It was then I ordered the foreign jonin to go and find their students to keep them safe while the ones from Iwa would stay to subdue the target. Hatake Kakashi stayed as well as the jinchuriki is apparently his student. After Hatake tried to reason with the child, the boy began to attack again in earnest. We fought it off the best we could but sadly only myself and Hatake managed to stay alive." Gari reported with a glare at the Konoha ninja. Kakashi ignored him as he still focused on the ground where his student was. Onoki grunted his understanding, still rubbing his back, before rounding on the copy nin.

"Hatake Kakashi, jonin of Konohagakure and the famed Copy Ninja or Sharingan no Kakashi. (Kakashi of the Sharingan) Is it true the jinchuriki is your student?"

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto and yes he's the youngest on my team. I asked my fellow Konoha jonin to try and find my other two students while I stayed to try and stop Naruto. He's never lost control like this so I don't know what happened." Kakashi refused to admit that Naruto didn't even know he was a jinchuriki as that would just make Konoha seem negligent by not teaching their 'demon weapon' how it was supposed to work. He understood the Sandaime's reasons as he wanted the boy to have as normal a childhood as possible but at the same time it was extremely risky for this very reason. Naruto had no control of Kyuubi's chakra so he had no defense against the demon's influence should he have subconsciously tapped into it.

"Was Konoha attempting to start a war or did they have any negative plans for Iwa?" Kakashi shook his head at the Tsuchikage's question.

"None Tsuchikage-sama, Naruto simply wanted to earn his rank like everyone else would. He absolutely refuses to use Kyuubi except as a last resort so I assume something in the exam pushed him too far." Again he lied about Naruto's relation to his biju, implying he had some semblance of control and simply went over it. The part about Naruto wanting a promotion like everyone else was true though.

"Heh, either way you and the other Konoha ninja here will be confined to you hotel rooms until I can have a talk with Sarutobi about this entire affair. Even if there weren't any plots against Iwa, one doesn't send their village's secret weapon to the Exams without alerting the other village." He stopped rubbing his back as he looked towards the ground where the boy was now buried. "And that is the price your village has apparently paid for this. You've now lost your jinchuriki due to it losing control."

"No." Onoki looked up at Kakashi to see his Sharingan spinning as he stared at the ground. "Naruto's not dead yet."

"What?"

"Haven't you noticed the killer intent of the demon's chakra hasn't dispersed yet?" Kakashi pointed out before it began to actually rise. They all faced the ground now as small wisps of red chakra were leaking out from between the cracks. Everyone leapt back as the chakra spiked and the wisps vanished. Suddenly there was a large explosion as chakra, rock, and wind were thrown everywhere. When it finally died down for them to see a few fainted in fear while Kakashi and Onoki were staring on in horror.

Standing before them was a giant fox that was missing its skin and fur, eight muscled tails swinging behind it as it roared to the skies, the rain still falling over the land.

* * *

><p>"<strong>That's it. One final step must be taken child, and then you shall never feel pain again." <strong>Kurama spoke as Naruto clutched at his stomach. The representation of the seal on his belly seemed to be distorting itself and melting off, though not at a fast enough rate to let the great demon out instantly. **"Come forward child and remove this seal on my cage and I will fulfill my promise to you**." Naruto dumbly got up, the pain in his gut and heart already beginning to dull as he obeyed the great demon. The boy began walking forward, each step numbing out the pain further. A small smile formed as he walked. The pain was going to stop. Naruto walked up to the cage and reached out for the seal, the water seemingly raising him up as he was still too short to reach the lock. However just before he could touch it his hand was grabbed. Before either could realize what happened Naruto was dragged away from the cage and farther back than where he was when he first appeared in front of it. Kurama growled lowly as its eyes flashed in annoyance and slight anger. **"Grr… Yondaime…"**

"Kyuubi. You know I never wanted to see you again." The man replied. He had spiky yellow hair like Naruto along with piercing blue eyes that spoke of nothing but confidence and compassion. He wore a normal Konoha jonin outfit with a large white, short-sleeved trench coat over it. At the bottom of the trench coat were red flames. "But I guess since I can see my son again I'll call it even." The demon growled at him again as Namikaze Minato turned to the little boy next to him. _'He's far younger than I expected for this to happen. Naruto just what happened?' _Minato knelt down in front of the boy who was staring at the ground with tears falling from his face as he lightly grabbed his son's shoulder. "Naruto, are you alright?"

His response was to punch the man in his face.

Minato's head snapped back from the unexpected blow but he was even more unprepared for when the boy tackled him, sending him down to the ground as the boy was on top of him crying and punching him. None of it hurt though, it was more due to shock that stopped him from responding. "Why? Why did you stop me? He was going to make it stop! He was going to get rid of the pain! Why?" The boy shouted out as he continued to punch the man, not even bothering to notice that it was the Yondaime or that the man had called him his son. All that seemed to matter to him was that this intruder had stopped him before he could do as the voice asked. He needed to do that in order for the voice to stop the pain. After giving Minato one last punch to the face he got off the man and tried to run back to the seal but was quickly grabbed from behind. "Let me go!" He shouted as he struggled against the older man that had him in a bear hug. It was no use though since the Yondaime was simply far stronger than him.

"I won't." Was Minato's calm reply. Naruto tried to struggle harder in return.

"I need to make it stop!"

"I'm not letting go Naruto!"

"Please." Naruto whined as he gave up struggling, his voice coming out weak and defeated. "Why won't you let go? Why do you want me to hurt?" He spoke sadly as he just kept crying at how he wasn't going to be allowed to do what he wanted. Minato was truly hating himself at the moment, as well as hating whatever the Kyuubi had promised him before he hit eight tails, but he couldn't do anything but try and help Naruto. He took away one hand from the boy, keeping a firm grip with the other in case he tried to run to the seal again while he snapped his fingers. Instantly the area seemed to change from a sewer to an area of nothing but white light. He slowly set Naruto down and turned him around to face him before embracing the child in a hug.

"I would never want you to be hurt Naruto, but you have to understand." He spoke as he held the child, who was now staring wide-eyed over his shoulder at the fact the man was hugging him. Other than the ones from Sakuya, he had never actually gotten a hug before. "Kyuubi was just using your pain to make you set it free. It couldn't stop the pain or anything of the sort. Had you removed the seal you would've died as the demon broke free." Naruto seemed to break down again at hearing how his one possible savior was nothing more than lies as he buried his head into Minato's shoulder and cried. He had lost his older brother in all but blood. He had lost the girl he loved right after finding out she loved him as well. His one hope for ending the pain was nothing more than a lie. And the man that was hugging him felt safe and familiar, though he had no idea why.

"C-can you make it stop?"

"I'm sorry Naruto but nothing can truly get rid of that pain." Minato pulled back and gave the boy a small smile to try and cheer him up. "But I know that in time, you'll be able to move past this and you'll be stronger for it."

"H-how do you know?"

"It's a parents' job to believe in their child isn't it?" Now Naruto was wide-eyed as he finally recognized the man as the Yondaime, his hero. He couldn't help but stare in disbelief as the man continued to give him the same small and caring smile.

"Y-you're my father?" Minato nodded.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you growing up Naruto. As you know, I died against the Kyuubi eleven years ago. But what you don't know apparently is that I died sealing Kyuubi inside you with a powerful jutsu that cost me my life. I asked for you to be treated like a hero, but it doesn't look like that happened." Naruto didn't know whether to start hitting him again or to embrace him once more. This man, his hero the Yondaime Hokage, was not only his father but the reason for his suffering because of a demon, which he now recognized was the voice from before. Instead he just lowered his head.

"Why? Why me?" Minato sighed but placed a hand on Naruto's head.

"Because as Hokage one must put the village first and be willing to sacrifice everything for it. How could I ask any parent to offer their child if I couldn't first do the same?" Naruto started to shake again as Minato let out a silent sigh. This was not how things were supposed to go. He had left this portion of his chakra in the seal hoping that it would never be used. He had hoped that people would honor his last wish and treat his son with at the very least respect. He had hoped that his lineage and burden wouldn't be kept from him. None of it happened.

His last resort had been activated on the boy's eleventh birthday. The people of Konoha outside of a small few treated the boy as if he was the demon itself, completely ignoring his last wish. And Naruto never even knew he held Kyuubi, much less who his parents were.

Had Minato had a body and a chance, the Sandaime would be a broken shell of a man and most of Konoha would be worse. He loved his village, no doubt about it, but when they're going to ignore what was probably his most important decision as well as make the boy believe he was just some unwanted child; angry, enraged, pissed. None of those words accurately described his feelings towards the village right now.

"Naruto, right now, outside the seal you're using eight tails of the Kyuubi's power. If you use any more the seal will break and you'll die, freeing the Kyuubi." Naruto looked scared but didn't interrupt his father. "I can fix the seal and restore it to perfect condition but this is only a one time thing. It'll never happen again if you lose control this badly."

"It's not my fault! I didn't know about Kyuubi!" Naruto shouted. How was he supposed to control something he never knew existed?

"I know son, and I'm not blaming you for it. I'm just telling you what's going to happen. After I fix the seal, you should have control again as Kyuubi's chakra will be pulled back in. The next time you see Sarutobi, I want you to tell him that I'm ordering him to tell you everything he's been hiding. Not just about me or Kyuubi, but everything. Your mother and I left things in a special seal in the Hokage office just as a precaution before you were born. I know the Sandaime knows this since he was there when I locked them up. If he refuses, tell him that it's your right as my son and that he had no right to deny you your heritage. Tell him that I'm extremely angry with him for doing so, and with Kakashi for not telling you either."

"What does sensei have to do with this?"

"I was his sensei Naruto, and he knew your mother was pregnant with you. In fact, he should've been looking out for you just like your godfather should've. Though I can guess at his reasons so try not to hold anything against Kakashi." Naruto nodded, doing his best to remember all the information as Minato lifted is shirt and spun his hand over the deteriorating seal. Instantly it reverted back to how it was before Naruto unleashed eight tails and was once more in perfect condition. "There, the seal is fixed. Remember what I told you Naruto."

"I will…Tou-san." Naruto replied with a small smile. Minato smiled himself and embraced his son one last time before his chakra would wear off.

"I love you Naruto. And I know that one day, you'll make a great Hokage."

* * *

><p>The shinobi scrambled to dodge as a giant claw was slammed down to the ground from above. This had been the norm since Naruto unleashed eight tails of power. Attempt to attack, fail, dodge a claw or tail swipe from the giant skinless demon. Onoki tried using his <span>Jinton<span> (Dust Release) but couldn't gather the chakra fast enough before the Kyuubi would try to swat the old Kage out of the sky. Kakashi had tried even harder to catch the great beasts' eye so that he could cast a genjutsu but it was as if he didn't even matter to it. More shinobi had died, all Iwa ninja that couldn't dodge the demons' attacks. The only people that were fighting it were Kakashi and other Iwa ninja so it was to be expected that others hadn't been harmed yet, though there was no clue how long that would last if they all fell without subduing the great biju.

The Kyuubi-fied Naruto swung his tails over his head as large amounts of chakra gathered in front of his mouth. Spiraling energy colored black and white that soon condensed itself into a small orb. Onoki recognized what he was about to unleash and reacted quickly by diving for the ground while flying through hand signs as fast as his old hands would take him. Just as the orb was swallowed by the demon, Onoki landed and slammed both hands on the ground. The result was the ground below Kyuubi's front clawed hands shot up, shoving the demon off balance. Naruto ended up falling back, launching the mighty Bijudama (Tailed Beast Ball) straight into the sky where it exploded, scattering the clouds away along with leaving a red hue in the sky. Anybody who looked up in Iwa that night would claim that the stars were drops of red blood and that the moon was an evil red eye.

However, just as suddenly as it all started is how it stopped. The large demon had stood back up and roared at the diminutive Tsuchikage, getting ready to crush him when his red eyes flashed blue for a moment. The great beast turned its head skyward and let out a long and loud roar as it seemed to shrink and disperse into energy. When it all cleared away they saw Naruto on his knees panting. Onoki was glaring at the boy since it was the first time he had actually seen the child. Kakashi slowly approached his student and called out to him. "Naruto! Are you all right?" The blonde slowly stumbled up to his feet shaking his head before looking around and seeing the destruction he had caused. However none of it was truly on his mind. He quickly looked around before rushing back towards the trees and mountainous terrain, ignoring his sensei calling out for him or the few remaining Iwa ninja there glaring at him. "Naruto come back!"

The blond ignored the call and kept running towards where his instincts were guiding him. It wasn't long before he came into a clearing. Around the edges were a few bodies, a few larger bloody messes, yet near the center was where he headed. He slowly stumbled forward as he knelt down next to the body of a kunoichi with purple hair. His eyes began to water as he reaches down and pulls back a strand of hair that was covering her face.

The scene Kakashi and Onoki came upon after following after the boy was of one Uzumaki Naruto crying over the dead body of his teammate Sakuya.

* * *

><p>And that's the end of my flashback arc. Next chapter is back to the main story. More will be explained through small memories or Omakes as always. But I just wanted to give out the full story of what actually happened to his old team in one go. Next chapter will take a bit as I'll be working on a chapter of my NarutoFairy Tail crossover but then I'll finish up the second exam and the prelims of this before moving to my other two 'main' stories, my Shinku Akuma no Iwa story and my Souru Chixeen story. So look forward to those if you follow them.


	14. 14

Glad everyone liked the last chapter as that's the end of the flashbacks. Now it's back to the Forest of Death and the current timeline. More will be shown about the fallout of Naruto's massacre in Omakes or in story conversations but I don't think I'll actually have anymore chapters focused entirely on flashbacks. I might but I don't think there's anything that would require it yet. Anyways, onto review responses and then the chapter.

**Alec McDowell: **Why do you say Naruto wasn't ready to be a chunin? Because he and his team couldn't handle a major ambush from opponents all around their skill level? Or because his team died and he lost himself to Kurama for a bit? Naruto actually was considered chunin level back then. He had the fighting skills and some of the planning and leadership skill as well, though he didn't use them much since Koji was team leader more often than him. Kakashi believed all of them to be at least at a rookie chunin level, which they were. They were ready for promotion, they just came up against something they were never supposed to face that early in their careers.

**X59: **I had thought up most of the story when that song had popped up on my MP3 and I realized just how well it fit with how I was developing Naruto in my head. Then when it came to this specific incident I just knew the song was a perfect fit for it.

**CracktheSkye: **I've noticed that myself in that Kurama was always either best buds or mortal enemies with Naruto. It makes sense somewhat as in the beginning it was shown only in a negative light and then when Kurama made its appearance it was always trying to either kill Naruto or trick him into freeing him. So a 'bad Kurama' is understandable while a 'good' one is merely a simple role-reversal that can be used as a good plot point and helper for our main character. But since recently we've been seeing that Kurama isn't really evil but rather is just mad at the world for always holding it back and treating it like a mindless beast, it shows that the demon is more complex and not the killer it was originally revealed as. Kurama has actually become one of my favorite Naruto characters because of it since he's not some 'destroy all humans' beast but rather just a creature that has become bitter and jaded towards the world because of the treatment it received. So I wanted the Kurama in this story to reflect that. It may be a demon and its power is somewhat tainted with malice and bloodlust because of it but its not evil. It just wants freedom and to be left alone mostly. Oh and for your other question, I will be going to Shippuden but then things will start to take a different turn from it because of how I'll be ending part one.

**Zelga Lim Li: **Was wondering if anybody would ask about Kairi. Don't worry, the little dog's fate will be shown later.

**gamehead64: **I think Monster would've worked better back when everyone believed Kurama to be an evil beast. Now that it's been shown its not, Monster just doesn't seem to fit anymore.

* * *

><p><strong>14 - <strong>Burning Rage

"That was quite impressive Sasuke-kun .I'm quite positive that would've even taken out a skilled jonin. Pity I'm much better than that." The dark haired girl spoke as Sasuke was panting a few feet away. He had been fighting the girl for the past ten minutes and every single time it looked like he was either about to kill her or trap her for an escape the girl came out without a scratch. Save for this last time in which he finally did damage, or at least he thinks he did damage. The girls face was burned somewhat and looked like it was peeling off. But then what was with the 'new' skin and face underneath it?

'_Damn it! What the hell is she? I couldn't draw out my sword, she did something to keep Naruto out of it and she just took a full blast __Ryuuka no Jutsu__ (Dragon Fire Technique) head on and barely looks like it touched her! How the hell am I supposed to defeat her? Even with Sakura trying to trip her up with genjutsu, which she seemed to ignore or break instantly, and my Sharingan I can't win!' _Sasuke's mind was racing as he struggled and stood back to his feet and quickly drew out a kunai. The girl chuckled in response as she slowly walked forward. From the side Sakura panted but then grabbed a kunai of her own and leapt at the Kusa ninja.

"I have no interest in you!" She shouted as she spun and used a powerful roundhouse kick to send the pink haired girl flying away. The girl watched for just a second with a cruel smirk before turning it back to Sasuke. "Well now let's continue shall we?"

"Damn you! I'll kill you!"

"Kukuku, come and try it Sasuke-kun."

* * *

><p>"Again…it's happening again." Naruto muttered as he was clutching his head while lying on the ground. He had been in this position ever since Sakura had left to help Sasuke. His mind flashing over his last Chunin Exams and his senses ignorant to everything around them. Sakuya's old weapon, the <span>Kagirinai Buyou <span>was a few feet away where it landed after he dropped it before and Sasuke had managed to drag the fight away from the blond to insure he didn't get hurt from a stray hit. The raven haired boy hadn't known why Naruto was suddenly useless but assumed a genjutsu that Sakura couldn't break and had ignored him in favor of trying to survive. So long as nobody came by their fight, Naruto would be safe and ignored off to the side since the girl was focusing damn near exclusively on him. She only kept enough of an eye on her surroundings to keep Sakura out and make sure nobody else interfered.

Sakura coughed up some blood as her body slammed against a tree a couple feet from the blond. As she struggled to her feet she looked over and saw him still exactly as she left him and actually growled at him. If this was any other time, Naruto likely would've beat the shit of her for it and she knew it. But this was ridiculous. Sasuke needed help and obviously she wasn't enough. But Naruto would be, the girl was positive of that fact. So Sakura steeled her determination and ran over to the blond and shook him by the shoulder. "Naruto snap out of it! We need your help!" The boy was unresponsive, just as last time. Sakura growled again and then did something off instinct that she was sure Naruto literally would kill her for later.

She slapped him across the face as hard as she could.

Naruto's eyes shot open as he glared at Sakura for a split second before wincing and shaking his head. "Ah, what happened?"

"Some Kusa girl came up, said a few words and punched you and you fucking froze! Sasuke-kun and I have been trying to handle her alone for at least ten minutes but we're getting our asses kicked! We need you Naruto! Didn't you promise to help us through the exams?" Sakura shouted, obviously stressed out as she had never cursed around either of the boys before. She was quickly pushed back as Naruto leapt to his feet and glared at her.

"I did, and I'm sorry alright? But if things are as bad as you say then you can chew me out later for this got it? Which way is Sasuke?" Naruto growled out as he closed his eyes. Sakura just stood back up holding her ribs where she was kicked before pointing towards there fight when he opened his eyes. Naruto let out a small sigh before walking over and grabbing the double sided naginata and sealing it back up.

"Uh, Naruto? Why did you do that? Won't you need that weapon to fight?" Sakura asked, honestly confused as to why Naruto would have first brought a weapon out just to put it away when he would actually go to fight. Then she gasped as he turned to face her. He did not look like he normally did. And that was when she took notice of the feeling in the air.

"I can feel the chakra coming from that direction. I'm not a sensor but all skilled shinobi pick up the skill to a small extent eventually. The chakra over there? It's dark. Far too dark for a genin or even chunin. The Kagirinai Buyou is meant for finesse or group battles. But this? I'm not going to stand up to it. Not without pulling out my own dark secret."

* * *

><p>"Damn… damn it…" Sasuke grunted as he dropped to his knees. The person (he wasn't sure if it was a male or female anymore) was just far too powerful for him to handle. The second face he had originally barely revealed came to show a very pale white face with purple markings down the eyes, which were a gold that seemed to shine with something disturbing that Sasuke couldn't quite place.<p>

"I grow bored Sasuke-kun, but you've proven your strength to me and much more so I'll let you live. But before I go I feel you deserve that gift I mentioned. After all a gift is much nicer after you've earned it, is it not?" The man, for Sasuke was sure it had to be a very twisted man now that the face was finally off and he stopped disguising his voice, made a few seals and licked his lips as if he was going to enjoy something. However he stopped just as suddenly as his smile seemed to grow. "Ah, so you've finally pulled yourself out of your memories, haven't you Naruto-kun?" A clawed gauntlet as placed on the back of his head as Naruto showed up.

"I've got Sakura to thank for that after this. But for you… Moeagaru." (Burst into Flames) As the jutsu was called Naruto's hand suddenly lit up in fire, fire which quickly consumed the body he was holding. Sasuke was shocked. Just like that? Naruto comes in, gets the drop on him and with a single technique erases a man that just toyed with him and Sakura for the past fifteen minutes. It was that easy for him? "A clone. Too bad I know that trick. I'll give you one shot before I bring it out. Leave or die." Naruto called out as he looked at his now empty hand, Sasuke wide eyed at how Naruto instantly pointed out it was a clone. He was getting beaten by a clone? No, the man substituted with one when Naruto showed up.

"Kukuku… But I haven't given Sasuke-kun my gift yet." The voice called out in a mock whine. Naruto sighed as a dark red chakra began to flow out of him and form a cloak over his body. It strangely came with what looked like fox ears and a tail while Naruto's whisker marks thickened and his eyes changed from bright blue to dark red with vertical black slits for pupils. "Ah yes, the power that brought about your massacre. I'm _honored_, my dear Kitsune."

"That's nice to know. I'll make sure to bury the ashes after I'm done!" Naruto shouted before vanishing as a sword pierced the ground where he just was. The blade seemed to fall back and as Sasuke followed with his eyes he came to see that it was actually retracting to a handle that it extended from. This guy had a sword that could stretch? Well that was a dangerous weapon. Sasuke didn't get to see much else though as the man had quickly spun and deflected a clawed slash at his head and kicked Naruto away. The blond however flipped in the air and the moment his feet touched the ground was running straight at him again. "Hitsume!" (Fire Claw) Naruto shouted as he slashed his hand through the air sending a large wave of fire at the enemy. Said man flipped through a couple hand seals of his own before breathing out a stream of fire that counter Naruto's before jumping to the side as Naruto charged through the flames to attack, the strange chakra cloak protecting him from the fire. "Die!"

Naruto used his gauntlet to claw at the mans' face while twisting his momentum into a kick the moment the man deflected his slash above with his sword. The man used one hand to block the kick before launching one of his own that sent Naruto flipping back. However the chakra cloak around him quickly wrapped the tail portion around a branch and used it to slingshot Naruto back at the man twice as fast. With reflexes and skills far above genin level the man angled his sword to pierce Naruto and it glowed before extending at a high speed to impale him. The blond growled but couldn't move before he was impaled through the chest, only for his form to burst into a log as the real Naruto shot out from behind with a ball of violet chakra in his right hand set to strike the man. "Oh my, you actually know that jutsu."

"Rasengan!" (Spiraling Sphere) He shouted as the attack carved into the mans' body before it seemed to melt and splatter into mud. Naruto cut his jutsu and looked around, keeping his senses sharp and cloak at the ready. He was not about to be caught off guard again if he could help it. Especially since he could tell this man was not genin level. He was jonin at the lowest and Naruto sincerely hoped that he was right about that as he didn't know if he could fight at a higher level without harming his nearby teammates. Sakura had come by and grabbed Sasuke while moving him back out of the way but still close enough they could both jump in if needed. "Sasuke, Sakura! Get out of here!"

"What? But Naruto we can't-" Sakura tried to argue for Naruto just to turn a glare on her.

"This isn't up for discussion. Get moving so I can bring out my best without worrying about killing you by accident! I can't fully control this power at the higher levels that I'm going to need to take him on!" Naruto shouted before turning back around so they wouldn't see him whispering to himself. "I don't want to see comrades die because of me ever again." Sakura looked like she wanted to argue but Sasuke grabbed her shoulder.

"You've got ten minutes Naruto!" He shouted before standing with Sakura's help and taking to the trees to run away with her. Naruto let out a small smirk at Sasuke's declaration but paid it little mind before focusing back on the threat of the man trying to kill them.

"You won't get away Sasuke-kun!" He shouted as he tried to jump past Naruto. However the blond shot his hands up as the chakra cloak extended the arms in the shape of feral red claws. Seeing this the man dodged to the side but was then forced back as the claws came at him again, followed by a wave of fire. "You're beginning to annoy me boy!" Naruto just smirked at that before jumping up to engage the man in a taijutsu bout. The man began to exchange blows with the demonically enhanced boy by deflecting the gauntlet with his sword while punching and kicking away the punches and kicks Naruto would send. However he noticed as time went on that the chakra cloak was beginning to burn and numb his hands so he jumped back. "I underestimated you Naruto-kun. It seems you're only a supposed B-rank without drawing on the Kyuubi. However with its power I'd put you a little closer to A."

"How do you know about the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked with a small scowl. Only Iwa shinobi and those above jonin level in Konoha (well and ninety percent of the civilian adults) knew about the Kyuubi. While Kabuto had said he was a jinchuriki he had never mentioned to which biju. After what had happened Sarutobi had modified the law concerning Naruto. People could talk about him being a jinchuriki now since anybody who checked the Chunin Exam records would discover anyways. Now instead it was forbidden to talk about the Kyuubi or explain what a jinchuriki was to others. Kabuto and his team knew the full story since they felt the power during the exams and the old Hokage had told them to explain everything as well as asking them to keep it a secret. None of the three older genin held it against Naruto and Kabuto had even become a somewhat good friend to the boy afterwards. But other than that, nobody outside the village should know he was the Kyuubi jinchuriki.

"Well considering I was part of the village when Minato sealed the beast within you I feel it should be obvious." Naruto narrowed his eyes as he stared at the man. This man was a defector from Konoha? That just opened up an entire new slew of questions. Such as why return to the village now? Why attack a Konoha genin? And why risk exposure by actually telling someone you defected?

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked as he kept his guard up, traitors weren't to be trusted after all.

"Kukuku…." The man laughed before vanishing in a burst of pure speed. He quickly reappeared in front of Naruto with his fingertips glowing with purple fire. "Gogyo Fuin!" (Five Elements Seal) He shouted as he drove the fingers into Naruto's stomach before he could react. Naruto shouted out in pain as the Kyuubi chakra dispersed within seconds leaving him on the ground clutching his stomach. Naruto raised a weak glare at the man as he stood over him with a smile. "You should know that seal, being an Uzumaki and all. But as for me… well I am Orochimaru dear boy. Who else could play with such a talented jinchuriki for so long?" Naruto's eyes went wide before they both turned to the side as they heard a shout.

"Orochimaru!" It was obviously a very pissed woman judging from the voice. Naruto scowled as Orochimaru chuckled.

"Oh dear, looks like I've been discovered. Seems I won't be able to give my gift to Sasuke-kun after all. So instead I'll settle for you giving Sarutobi a message through my dear Anko-chan. Tell them that if the exams are stopped I will destroy Konoha." The man chuckled again before beginning to melt into the ground as if it were liquid. "You're strong Kurai Kitsune, if only you could be turned to my side of things…" He whispered to the blond before vanishing completely into the ground. Not a second later Anko landed in front of Naruto and looked around.

"Damn. He was just here." She muttered before noticing Naruto trying and failing to stand. "Hey, you alright there?"

"Since when the hell have you ever cared about anyone Mitarashi?" Naruto shot out coldly as he struggled to stand, this time barely managing it on shaky legs. Anko flinched and looked away but didn't say anything. "Orochimaru… He attacked my team, incapacitated me temporarily and easily knocked Haruno Sakura aside before focusing damn near exclusively on my other teammate Uchiha Sasuke. He was toying with him the whole time and then I managed to get free from my bonds and drive him back long enough for Sasuke and Sakura to escape. He claimed he had some kind of gift for Sasuke but whatever it was, it couldn't be good so I stopped him from that much at least. He managed to hit me with a Gogyo Fuin so my chakra is shot to hell until it's taken off. He also left a message for you to give Hokage-sama. Stop the exams and he'll destroy Konoha." Naruto spoke as quickly as he could while trying to regain his breath and prevent himself from dropping unconscious right there. Anko took in the info and nodded her head.

"I got it. I'd try and help you but with the Exam rules I can't so I'll go pass on the situation to Hokage-sama." Naruto scoffed as he turned to find his teammates.

"Yeah right. Hide behind the rules to cover how heartless you really are." He muttered before leaving. Anko growled at the jab but did nothing except leap away to the central tower in the forest. Her and Naruto had a history that at first glance nobody would expect. Most actually would expect her to sympathize with the boy do to there similar treatment from the village. But instead, Naruto hated her and Anko couldn't help but accept that his reasons for it were just. When the two first met, they actually did get along somewhat. But that changed after Naruto learned a secret that nobody at the time knew, not even the Hokage. After that, he wanted nothing to do with her, calling her a heartless bitch.

Anko shook the thoughts from her head as she leapt towards the tower. The Hokage needed to know what happened first and foremost.

* * *

><p>"Is Naruto going to be okay?" Sakura asked as she wrapped a bandage around Sasuke's arm. After the two retreated they had found shelter under a large hollowed area under the roots of one particularly large tree. Sakura had quickly set to tending to Sasuke's injuries as well as her own.<p>

"I don't know. He's strong but that ninja… they're on an entire other level. I don't know if Naruto can do it."

"I'm glad you have so much faith in me Sasuke…" Naruto called out as he stumbled into the clearing in front of the area they were resting in.

"Naruto!" Sakura quickly finished the bandage on Sasuke's arm before running up and helping Naruto over to them since he looked as if he was about to pass out. "What happened? Are you alright? Where's that creepy guy?" She asked as she set him down against the roots so that he could rest. Naruto let out a deep breath as he laid his head back.

"I barely managed to… drive him off. He got… me with a seal… It's fucking with my chakra. I barely stayed conscious…" He muttered before falling to the side. Sakura was quick to check over him and found he was asleep so she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Sasuke stared at him seriously before sighing.

"Alright Sakura, here's the plan. Until Naruto wakes up we'll sleep in shifts to regain our energy. After he's up we'll go get our other scroll and rush to the tower. Now get some sleep. I'll take first watch." Sakura shook her head as she went back over to him and picked up the bandages she had been using before.

"No, you fought and got hurt a lot more than me. I'll finish binding you up and then you'll sleep first since you're way more exhausted than me. I'll wake you in about five hours. Okay?" She asked. Sasuke looked at her surprised she wasn't just mindlessly agreeing with him like always before shaking the thoughts out of his head and nodding.

"Right… I guess that works a bit better. Try and set up some traps too and I'll set up my own during my shift." Sakura nodded before turning her attention back on Sasuke's wounds.

* * *

><p>In the trees on the other side of the clearing three genin were watching, all wearing headbands with a musical note on them. "So that's Uchiha Sasuke? He doesn't look like much." A boy with a shirt with the kanji for 'kill' on it spoke.<p>

"He must be stronger that he looks if Orochimaru-sama wants us to hill him Zaku." A boy with bandages all over his face said.

"Heh, maybe he is but that girl looks like she's worthless. In fact I'd say a little more knowledge in battlefield medicine than an Academy student is all she's got." A girl with long black hair voiced. Her teammates merely grunted in agreement.

"However, what that silver haired boy before the first test said is concerning. Kage level reserves, fire and wind, weapons skill and a jinchuriki, whatever the hell that is. That boy is the biggest threat and since he's with Sasuke, we can't just up and complete our mission with him in the way."

"Tch, it was probably all just a bluff Dosu. I mean seriously, he's out cold right now." Zaku growled out. "No way a kid that strong isn't already a jonin. It was all a lie since their buddies."

"Zaku has a point. If that kid was really that strong then he'd be higher than a genin."

"I know that Kin, however he was also said to be in the Bingo Book and since we don't have a copy to confirm or deny it then it should be taken in under caution as a possibility. Perhaps the kid exaggerated his skills, but even if he did Sasuke's teammates are obstacles that must be taken care of." Dosu responded. He looked carefully as Sasuke thanked Sakura and closed his eyes to rest. Sakura looked at him for a moment before doing a quick check on their other teammate. "Since one is out and they look like they'll be taking shifts, we'll have to plan this out."

* * *

><p>"Alright, I guess I should wake up Sasuke-kun for his shift now. But first I'll check Naruto again. He just seems to be sleeping but better safe than sorry." Sakura muttered to herself as she got ready to look over Naruto and wake Sasuke. Just as she was about to reach for the blond a kunai with an explosive note landed near the entrance to the hollowed area. Sakura reacted on instinct and grabbed Naruto and Sasuke while diving further in for cover. The tag exploded blasting a crater into the ground and even collapsing some of the roots on top of them. When the smoke cleared it showed Sasuke and Sakura coughing as they climbed out of the rubble with Naruto still out behind them. "Where did that come from?" Sakura yelled as she got a kunai out. She was tired and wanted sleep, Sasuke was still somewhat exhausted but was in much better condition since he got some rest.<p>

"Sakura, guard Naruto. I'll fight." Without another word he pushed chakra into the seal Naruto had made for him on one of his arm warmers. In a poof of smoke a large cleaver appeared in his hands. "This'll be my first time using this in real combat." Sasuke mused to himself as he leapt forward and looked around while holding the blade in front of himself with both hands.

"Well that's a big sword. Tell me, you compensating for something?" A cocky voice called out before leaping down. Sasuke turned to see Zaku standing off to the side with his hands facing the other. Sasuke narrowed his eyes before stepping back as two more leapt out a few feet to either side of Zaku. "We're here to kill you Uchiha Sasuke. We'll take the scroll from the bimbo or blond behind you afterwards. After all its not like you could stop us."

"Someone sure is cocky. Let me guess, weakest on the team?" Sasuke shot back with a smirk. Zaku growled but pointed his hands at the Uchiha heir.

"Zankuha!" (Decapitating Airwaves) He shouted as he aimed his palms at the Uchiha. Instantly large gusts of wind were shot out that Sasuke braced himself against by stabbing the sword in the ground in front of him so they hit the flat of the blade while he crouched behind it. As soon as the wind died down Sasuke whipped his hands through a set of seals and spun around the blade.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" Multiple small fireballs flew out at the Oto genin, causing them to scatter to dodge as Sasuke pulled the Kubikiri out of the ground and swung as the bandaged Dosu charged him. The boy jumped back but Sasuke pressed his advantage and began to swing at Dosu while moving towards him, making him backpedal to dodge and avoid him. Sasuke heard the whistle of metal coming towards him and jumped back as senbon were lodged in the ground where he just was. With a grunt the Uchiha heir pushed chakra to his eyes and blinked, his eyes becoming red with two tomoes in each. "Sharingan!"

"So that's the infamous Uchiha Kekkei Genkai, is it?" Dosu remarked as he braced himself while Kin and Zaku stood around the Uchiha in a triangle formation with Sasuke in the center of them. "Hmph, doesn't matter. In the end, your still going to die." Sasuke merely smirked but then turned to Zaku.

"I don't think I need to deal with you anymore."

"What are you saying?" Dosu asked before feeling something sharp cut his legs making him roll to the side. He spun around and then saw Sakura behind him with a glare before turning back and still seeing her guarding Naruto. He quickly realized what this meant and pulsed his chakra making the Sakura guarding the blond vanish from his sight. "Genjutsu…" He muttered but in his head his mind was racing. _'Damn, I can't believe I fell for such a simple trick! Only Kin was trained in illusions since we were told we wouldn't need them! I was meant to be a close range kill specialist with my Melody Arm. Zaku using his Wind Tunnels for mid range support and Kin using her illusions for long range. Zaku and I only got enough training in genjutsu to know how to dispel it. With Kin preoccupied against the Uchiha, this girl is the perfect foe for me and Zaku!' _Dosu's thoughts were cut short as Sakura started going through hand seals. "Oh no you don't!" He shouted as he charged her and punched her across the face, just for her to vanish in a puff of smoke as a log appeared in her place.

'_Shit, he won't fall for that again. I need to aim for the other guy and that girl now to help Sasuke-kun.' _Sakura thought as she hid behind a tree while Dosu looked around for her.

* * *

><p>"Hold still!" Zaku shouted as he sent another blast of wind at the Uchiha, only for Sasuke to dodge to the side and continue charging him while dragging the Kubikiri's blade across the ground, making a slight trench. As he got near though he had to once more jump back to dodge senbon barrage from Kin.<p>

"I'm getting annoyed with her." Sasuke muttered to himself as he lifted his sword to block a few more needles and then tried to charge her just to change course to dodge another wind jutsu and head after Zaku again. This had been the pattern ever since he turned away from Dosu, he'd charge one just for the other to make him abandon it at the last second and head for them just to repeat the process all over again. On the other hand though, neither one could hurt him as he'd use the Kubikiribocho as a shield as much as a sword to defend from their jutsu or projectiles. Sasuke leapt back as he moved out of the way of yet another senbon attack before looking at the two. "Hn, don't you two have anything else? All I'm seeing is a wind bag and a girl with weak needles. Neither of you can hit me and if not for the other interfering I would've cut one of you up by now." Sasuke taunted.

"I'll show you weak needles!" Kin shouted before whipping more at the boy. He deflected them all with his sword but made note of how a few had bells on them. Once they were all on the ground he heard the bells jingle again and noticed his vision swimming slightly. The tomoe in his Sharingan spun instantly dispelling the illusion that she had just trued to place on him. _'I see, she used the sound of her bells as a catalyst for her genjutsu. Maybe this can work to my advantage…' _Sasuke thought before falling to a knee while dropping his sword next to him.

"What the hell?" He shouted, acting as if something was wrong with him. Zaku and Kin smirked, thinking that it worked as Zaku slowly walked over to the 'downed' Uchiha.

"Kin's ability isn't really just some weak little senbon. Her real strength is genjutsu Uchiha. With her needles and bells she casts an illusion over the target that disorients them to the point they can't stand and are seeing triple of everything at the very least. Looks like the mighty Sharingan was overrated." Zaku mocked as he got close, just for Sasuke to suddenly grab his sword and lunge out, slashing Zaku across the chest deeply. "Wha…!"

"Or maybe I was faking it. The Sharingan sees through all illusions, such a tactic would never work against an Uchiha!" Sasuke gloated before kicking the stunned and wounded boy back with a roundhouse to the chest. He then looked over to Kin who was scared and shaking seeing how her only skills were useless against Sasuke. It was then the Sasuke's instincts screamed for him to move so he obeyed and rolled to the side as Dosu came in with a punch right where he was a second ago. As his fist hit the ground Sasuke's eyes saw chakra built into the strange holed gauntlet on his right that was quickly released in his direction making him jump back even further as it dissipated after moving about a foot from the bandaged teen. "I saw the chakra with my eyes. Just what did you think it would do to me?" Dosu stayed silent but looked over to where Zaku was on the ground unconscious from pain and blood loss and then to Kin who was obviously unable to fight against Sasuke as he could counter her with little effort.

"Damn… Orochimaru-sama said this would be easy." He muttered, however he was just a little too loud as Sasuke heard him.

"Orochimaru… is that the name of the guy that attacked us earlier? The one Naruto managed to force into retreat?" Sasuke demanded, making Kin and Dosu's eyes widen. Naruto hadn't wanted his team to worry that he had merely gotten lucky and was allowed to live by the sannin so he made it sound like he had managed to fight the guy off instead. Sasuke and Sakura didn't have anything else to go on so just assumed that was what happened since they'd get the full story when he woke up.

The Oto ninja though, were terrified of the blond because it sounded like he drove off a sannin. A genin that looked like shit at the moment driving off one of the strongest ninja in the world and living to tell the tale. It looked to them that Kabuto's card in class was wrong, but rather than over-stating the blonds' abilities, he left some out. "He… he fought off Orochimaru-sama and lived?" Kin fearfully asked. Sasuke merely narrowed his eyes but nodded slowly.

'_Damn! We are not on that level of skill! If that kid wakes up we're dead in seconds!' _Dosu thought as he tried to figure out a way to salvage the situation but none came up. Finally he shook his head and pulled out a heaven scroll. "If what you said is true we stand no chance if he wakes up, and your proving to be a greater challenge than expected. I offer our scroll in exchange for you letting us grab Zaku and leave in peace." Dosu offered. Kin stayed where she was as she looked to the raven haired boy as he considered it before nodding.

"Drop it and leave. If we see you again, your dead." Dosu did as he was told before leaping over to Zaku and picking him up from one side as Kin came over and grabbed the other before they leapt away. Sakura came out from her hiding space and nervously tapped the scroll before looking to Sasuke. "My Sharingan isn't picking anything up Sakura, it's fine." The girl let out a sigh of relief and picked it up before placing it with the earth scroll they already had and then heading over to where Naruto was still out cold.

"We should head to the tower now. We have both scrolls and Naruto can rest up better there than here in the woods." Sasuke nodded his head in agreement before sealing away his sword in his wrist warmer again and walking over to them. He hefted Naruto over his back as best he could before nodding to Sakura.

"Let's go. Use a genjutsu over us to try and hide us as we travel since we can't go that fast right now." She nodded and was about to go through hand seals when he spoke up again. "Oh and thanks… for getting me out of the way of that first attack." Sasuke muttered as he started to walk off. Sakura just stared for a moment before smiling and going back to her hand seals.

* * *

><p>It only took the two, plus one unconscious Naruto, a little over an hour to reach the tower and when they did the blond had begun to stir. "What… what hit me?" He groaned before noticing he was being carried.<p>

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she was shocked that he had just woken up after being out for almost a day. Sasuke set him down as he shakily stood on his own before Sakura came and checked him over as best as she could. "Are you alright?" Naruto rubbed his eyes and looked around as he nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be good. Why did you guys head for the tower though? We still need another scroll. And how long was I out?" Naruto asked as he stretched an arm. Sasuke smirked as Sakura pulled out both scrolls.

"For around six or seven hours and another team attacked while you were out cold. Sakura and I managed to fight them off and get their scroll at the same time." Naruto blinked as he looked from Sasuke's smirk to the scrolls Sakura held before smirking.

"Good job. Then let's head inside and get this over with." Sakura smiled as Sasuke kept up his smirk while they all walked in. Inside they were in a large open chamber that had a plaque on one wall with writing on it. They read it over a couple times with as they were trying to figure out what to do before Sakura looked to the scrolls.

"I think we're supposed to open them." Both boys gave her a look with raised eyebrows so she explained. "That poem talks about earth and heaven and needing both. Well we needed both an earth scroll and heaven scroll to pass so maybe we're supposed to open them now." She reasoned. Naruto shrugged and took the heaven scroll as she opened the earth. As soon as Naruto opened his own he saw the seals on it and tossed it away.

"Sakura drop it! Those are summoning seals!" Sakura gasped as she tossed her scroll where it landed over Naruto's. Sasuke got into a stance to fight as did Naruto while Sakura went behind them. Smoke came out of the scrolls before vanishing as standing there was Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei!" Sakura called out with a smile as Naruto and Sasuke dropped their stances. Iruka looked over the group and smiled.

"Hey you three. I'm happy to see you made it passed the second phase of the exams."

"So now what Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, glad to see his old instructor again. Iruka looked to Naruto and noticed his appearance before getting a serious look on his face.

"Well normally you'd be escorted to a guest room here at the tower to rest up while you wait for the time limit to run out but you three were attacked by Orochimaru in the forest so I have to take you to meet with Hokage-sama first to be debriefed. Then you'll be allowed to rest until the second test is finished." Naruto nodded while Sasuke scowled and Sakura sighed in disappointment and not getting to rest. The three were quickly led to an office where inside was the Hokage, Kakashi, Anko and the sensei to the other Konoha teams.

"It's good to see you three alright after being attacked by Orochimaru." Sarutobi spoke with a kind smile as he looked from face to face. He then sighed and took a puff from his pipe. "I'm sorry for cutting into your rest time but I need to know exactly what happened so please, start from the beginning."

"We entered in just like other teams and spent the first few hours trying to find an enemy team to take a scroll from." Naruto started, being most used to this from his previous mission experience with Kakashi. "After a few hours of an unsuccessful search we decided to set up camp when I felt something was off. I was quickly forced to counter a powerful wind jutsu with one of my own when a shinobi from Kusa came up and separated us. Unfortunately my… my past experiences with these exams acted up and I was taken out by my own fears of a repeat of Iwa." Naruto admitted with a shameful look as he turned his head to the ground. Kakashi held back the urge to wince as that was one reason why he entered Naruto, to help him get over that, but it seemed to have had the opposite effect and made it worse. Sakura gave the boy a somewhat pitying look as she didn't blame him since according to Kakashi these types of things happened from time to time and it wasn't his fault. Sasuke just scowled as he thought Naruto was taken out by a genjutsu of sorts and not just some nightmares but didn't say anything. He had nightmares of his own from his clan being massacred, he just never had anything that could cause him to freeze up.

"Once Naruto was down Sakura and I stepped up to drive the Kusa shinobi off but were pretty much toyed with. He kept knocking Sakura away, only paying her enough attention to keep her back and break any genjutsu she cast over him while focusing on me instead. All I managed to do was burn off the face he was using to hide himself when he knocked me down." Sasuke continued where Naruto left off since he was out of it and didn't know what happened. "The entire time, the guy just kept laughing and taunting me by only doing the bare minimum to stop my attacks or damage me. It was like he was dangling his skill over my head the entire time just to mock me." Sasuke growled as he thought back to just how outclassed he was by the man. Sarutobi nodded his head, knowing that was exactly how Orochimaru fought against people that weren't on his level.

"It was around this time Sakura snapped me out of my trance and pointed me in Sasuke direction so I could help." Naruto picked back up seeing as this was where he had 'woken up' so to speak. "I rushed in and managed to push Orochimaru away from Sasuke long enough for Sakura to grab him so they could escape while I drew on one tail of the Kyuubi's power to try and fight the sannin off." Both Sakura and Sasuke whipped their heads to Naruto at that piece of info but he ignored them in favor of continuing his explanation. "Orochimaru pretty much danced around my attacks before hitting me with a Gogyo Fuin to disrupt my chakra. We both heard Mitarashi shouting for Orochimaru so he left me the message about the exams I gave her before leaving. It was just after he did she showed up and I gave her a brief rundown of events before heading off to find my team. Upon doing so, I collapsed from exhaustion and the seal."

"Alright, if that's all then-" Sarutobi started only to get cut off by Sakura.

"There's more Hokage-sama." He gave her a questioning look so she explained. "While Naruto was out we were attacked by the genin team from Oto. We were holding them off when they mentioned something about an 'Orochimaru-sama'. Sasuke-kun questioned them about it while mentioning that Naruto had driven him off and they were suddenly terrified of him so they gave us their scroll in exchange for us letting them leave before running away. They had also said when they first attacked that their mission was to kill Sasuke-kun." That got all the adults to narrow their eyes. Why target the Uchiha in such a way to give him a 'gift' as Anko had mentioned just to then order his death? Was it because he had failed to mark Sasuke or was this planned out before that?

"Is there anything else or did you simply head to the tower after that?" Sarutobi questioned. The three shook their heads no so he nodded his own. "Alright then. You three are not to breath a word about his attack as it is now an S-ranked secret. Naruto-kun, I'm sorry but unless you can take the Gogyo Fuin off yourself you'll have to deal with it until after this is over." The boy sighed but nodded his understanding. "Now then, you three will be taken to your assigned room for the duration of the second test. There's a cafeteria if you're hungry as well. You'll be notified of what to do when the time comes." The three nodded before turning to follow Kakashi out as he went to show them where they'd stay while Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his head. _'Just what are you scheming Orochimaru?'_

* * *

><p>"Good job on making it passed the second stage you three." Kakashi spoke as he opened the door to a simple three bedroom room with a bathroom to the side. They each took a bed as he stood near the door. I can't say what it is but I can say that the third part is also the last so you can relax a little. While you guys didn't break any records, you are one of the first five teams here as well so be proud. I'll see you three later." And with that the masked jonin left and closed the door behind him. Instantly Sasuke and Sakura turned to Naruto.<p>

"Okay, Naruto, I want answers. Why did you freeze up on me and Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"And what did you mean in front of the Hokage by 'one tail of Kyuubi's power' huh?" Sasuke asked with a scowl. Naruto sighed and laid back on his chosen bed before rubbing his head.

"I meant my jinchuriki abilities Sasuke." While he wasn't looking at them, he knew both were giving him confused looks. "Kyuubi was one of the nine biju, living masses of chakra and intelligence. There is no way to actually kill them. Doing so will just make them reform themselves within a few years, free to do what they wish on the world once more. As such, the Yondaime did the next best thing; he made a jinchuriki." Naruto sat up and lifted his shirt while channeling chakra to his stomach to reveal the seal, as well as the Gogyo Fuin Orochimaru put over it. "A jinchuriki is a human being with a biju inside them. I hold Kyuubi behind this seal. A jinchuriki can call on their demon's power with training and use it to do super-human feats. One tails' worth of power was literally just that. One tail out of nine, each filled with more power than any normal human could possibly naturally have. Holding Kyuubi grants me extremely high chakra reserves, like all jinchuriki though mine are the highest since I'm carrying the strongest biju. It also grants one power that differs from biju to biju. Mine is an advanced healing factor that borders on regeneration. I'll heal from any wound at a rate that's three to five times faster than you ever will while it'll also take me literally damn near forever to get exhausted under normal conditions. Currently though, the Gogyo Fuin is fucking with my control while also cutting me off from Kyuubi. I can't draw on it and my jutsu are going to be wild until I get it off."

"Then why not just take it off?" Sakura asked, still slightly wary of the Kyuubi that was revealed to be in her teammate but trusting Naruto since he seemed to have it under control.

"Because the control required for the counter jutsu is beyond me while my control is shot like this. I know someone who can get it off bur you heard Hokage-sama, unless I can do it myself I have to deal until the next round." Naruto grunted while dropping his shirt and lying back down. Sakura nodded her understanding while Sasuke looked at Naruto with narrowed eyes, remembering how he had said things before when using that power.

"You don't have total control over it do you?" Sasuke asked. "Back in the forest you said you can't control this power at the higher level and told Sakura and me to run. Am I right?" Naruto sighed but nodded without looking.

"I currently can use three tails without any adverse side effects. Four and up though, I'll start to forget friend from foe and attack anything in sight."

"Can it escape?" Sasuke asked, making sure to memorize the info for future notice.

"Not unless I draw on too much like all nine without control, or let it out myself which won't happen since I hate the fucker. It's the reason my life is shit." Naruto told them while shaking his head. Sakura though was confused.

"Wait, why is Kyuubi the reason you had a bad life?" Before Naruto could answer the girl, Sasuke did.

"Think about it Sakura, he has a demon in him. I bet all the people that hated him really hated Kyuubi and just took it out on him." Naruto chuckled.

"Close Sasuke, very close. Fuinjutsu is a very misunderstood and complex art. A lot of people, even trained shinobi don't understand much more than explosive notes and sealing scrolls. As such when it comes to jinchuriki most people believe there is no prison and prisoner. Rather most of the population believes _I am _Kyuubi trapped in human from, not its jail." Naruto explained with a rue smile on his face. "It wasn't until the exams in Iwa that some of the shinobi population began to think otherwise, while the civilian side still believes I really am the beast." He muttered though both heard him. Neither knew what to say about that so they were silent for a bit before Naruto spoke up again. "Sakura, you wanted to know why I froze right?"

"Y-yeah. But you don't need to keep talking about stuff if you don't want to Naruto." She said, having trouble wrapping her head around the Kyuubi fact already. Plus she was realizing her own mother was one of the people who believed Naruto was a demon as she remembered how she was warned to stay away from him if she could. Naruto shook his head without looking.

"No… you and Sasuke deserve to know why I left you guys hanging after promising to help. So listen up cause I will not repeat myself." He took a deep breath before letting it out and started to tell them about Inuzuka Koji, his brother in all but blood, and Sakuya, the girl he loved.

* * *

><p><strong>Omake - <strong>Fox and Snake 1

"You want me to what?" It had been two months since the incident in Iwa and Naruto's tale had grown into the biggest talk among Konoha's shinobi forces. A few didn't believe it and blamed it all on Kakashi interfering to save his kids but only managed to save the Kyuubi brat as he was called. Some believed that the seal had finally cracked a bit and that Naruto had killed his own teammates first before rampaging against everyone he saw. But most believed what the Hokage and Kakashi had said happened; that Koji and Sakuya in true Konoha fashion sacrificed themselves to save their comrade and friend and the despair from losing them made Naruto lose control against Iwa until he calmed down. The few who had seen the boy at the funeral held for the two couldn't ever see a demon from him again. All they saw was a young boy crying over losing the two most important people in his orphan life.

But that was then and this is now, now being Kakashi asking Anko for a favor.

"I want you to try and cheer Naruto up a bit. You both know what it's like to be scorned and hated by the village for things out of your control so you two should be able to connect a bit." Kakashi repeated to her as he watched her munch on her favorite food of dango. Anko sent him a dry look as she swallowed.

"I get that and understand that bit cyclops. What I don't get is why _now._ I mean, if you wanted me to try and be friends with the gaki then why didn't you ask me to introduce myself sooner like back when you were one of his ANBU guards huh? Why did you wait until he went and lost his teammates and fell into a depression? I've got no real problem with the kid, hell I thought the pranks he used to pull were hilarious. Especially when he worked with Sakuya, but still. Why now?" The woman asked him. Kakashi sighed but then lowered his head.

"I admit, I thought you would've been a bad influence on him for a while. With all the drinking and attacking people who bug you, I kind of didn't want that for Naruto so I never bothered to point him to you or you to him. I figured you must've had your own reasons for not getting involved in his life so I wasn't going to ask you to." The masked jonin explained. Anko flipped him off for the 'bad influence' comment but that just made him chuckle. "But now… now he's barely said anything, all he does is train or sulk on the Hokage Monument, he's not getting a lot of sleep and… Do you know what his last words as he left Iwa were?"

"No, Hokage-sama hasn't mentioned anything about what he's said, or that he said anything to them at all. What'd he say that's got you so worried?" Anko asked while shaking her head. Kakashi looked around to see if anyone was listening in before leaning in to whisper it to the woman.

"He said, and I quote; You fucking stone-heads just couldn't let it go. Konoha kicked your asses, so what? But you couldn't fucking let it go and dragged Koji-nii and Sakuya-chan down because of it. Well now you've got me to deal with. I don't care how long it takes or what I have to do to pull it off but I swear, I'll burn your fucking village to the ground. I'll kill everyone here one day by my own hand and laugh over your graves. And Uzumaki Naruto never breaks a promise." Anko actually had to pick her jaw up off the ground after hearing the declaration made by the boy. That was not something a kid or a genin made. Hell, that wasn't even something a Kage would say. Those were the words of a madman with nothing left to lose. Of someone who didn't care about the world, but only cared for their goal and what they'd have to do to achieve it.

"You're shitting me."

"Word for word."

"I get why you want me to talk to him now." Anko finished off her dango before sighing. "You want to show him he's still got the village and some people so he won't go nuts and actually try that obviously suicidal scheme one day. Make him give up on it and such, right?" Kakashi nodded so Anko sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll talk to the gaki, see if I can cheer him up somewhat. And if not, well I don't think I could make him much worse than he is right now."

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><p>Here's you newest chapter and my birthday present to you! That's right, today 3-11 is my birthday. So read and review while I go and get drunk and maybe laid. See you all next time.<p> 


	15. 15

**Kingboa: **Naruto's standings with the Inuzuka's is good. Most of the clan views him as a valuable Konoha shinobi and a good person. The ones that know him personally think of him as a good friend and ally to the clan. Koji's parents treat him as another son, both when Koji was a live and even after he died. Very few Inuzuka are against Naruto actually.

**Culebra del Sol: **Oh yeah it was hard to not have Naruto flat out obliterate everything since I've been setting him up since chapter one as someone far above the rest of the characters that canon threw at him. However Naruto isn't Kage level, which is what the Sannin are, so though I wanted to; making him able to stand up to Orochimaru would've been unrealistic for my story. I feel I was pushing it with what I did as it is personally.

**Leaf Ranger: **What makes you say the Gogyo Fuin is a worthless copout that Kishimoto made? It's meant to disrupt chakra flow and is especially effective against jinchuriki. It has a purpose and no Kishi didn't make it up just to weaken Naruto when it seemed like he was catching up to Sasuke. I have to say, back then Sasuke was still ahead of Naruto. It wasn't until he learned the Rasengan that he honestly started to catch up really since all he did was spam clones that weren't pretty powerful or anything. The only reason it seemed like Naruto was catching up was because he was using the Kyuubi. But since Naruto didn't have any control, that wasn't really him catching anything but just bulldozing through stuff. The seal was meant to cut Naruto off from that power so he couldn't bulldoze through to get Orochimaru. It wasn't useless.

And as for your second point, I'm going to use it against you. You say Naruto should've gotten the seal taken off since what happened was an ambush that wasn't supposed to even be part of the exams thus removing any side-effects caused by it would be okay. But by that same reasoning, why didn't Sarutobi or Kakashi block the curse mark on Sasuke immediately in canon? Because they couldn't. The genin had to go straight through with how they came in until the month long break for the third test. Since there were preliminaries first, that meant they had to go through those with whatever happened to them in the forest. Meaning Naruto couldn't have the seal removed.

**zmanjz: **As I said to Leaf Ranger, if they didn't do anything to the obviously dangerous curse mark that they _know_ comes from Orochimaru then why would they do something with the Gogyo Fuin? Also they can't disqualify a team without good reason and while their leader may be bad, the Oto team itself never did anything illegal. Sure they targeted Sasuke, but then again Neji used the exam to indirectly target his cousin as well so that shows targeting someone for death isn't illegal. Hell had Neji killed Hinata, they couldn't do anything since it was within Exam rules. It's the same with the Oto team, while cause for suspicion it's not cause for disqualification.

And they never revealed that Orochimaru attacked which they would've had to do to justify interfering with something received in the forest before the allowed time. They couldn't reveal his threat either because had they done so they would've lost face with the public and make it seem like the village was weak because it couldn't handle one man. The Exams were more for a public show of strength than to actually promote people and as such they couldn't do anything that would make them seem weak. Even if Orochimaru was one of the strongest in the world, admitting that an _entire village _couldn't handle him would make them seem weak no matter how you put it. So no, Sarutobi wasn't screwing over Naruto but following protocol. Is it fair? No but then again since when was life fair?

**Authors Note: **This is going to be the last chapter for a while. After this I'm going to work on my Souru Chixeen story and/or my Shinku Akuma story with a chapter here or there for my others in between. So don't be surprised if this doesn't update for a while.

I'm finishing up the preliminaries here in this chapter. Also, I won't be going into detail about the canon fights, save for Sasuke's, Sakura's, and a couple others since they are different from their canon selves. So don't be surprised by the small one or two sentence descriptions of some fights. Now onto the chapter.

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><p><strong>15 - <strong>Failure Doesn't Equal Loss

Naruto sighed as he got into the shower provided to the team. It was the last day as the second phase would be ending in a couple hours. As such the team was fixing themselves up so that they were ready for whatever would happen. Naruto didn't make it to the third part so he couldn't tell them about it. They also had not seen Kabuto in the tower so Naruto couldn't even ask his older friend about it in case he had. They had seen other teams around, including the Suna genin team, so they knew a few others had passed as well.

Naruto's mind wasn't really on the test though, but rather on his teammates. After he told them about his old team and experience in the exams they hadn't spoken much. Not because they were against him or anything of the sort but rather because Naruto was staying silent and not talking. Sakura had cried a bit and muttered about how sad his experience was while Sasuke stayed silent, though Naruto could tell he didn't like what happened either and felt sorry for him for the same reason. But as the blond told them in Nami, he didn't need nor want their pity. He had then simply clammed up. He wouldn't talk to them much more than a few words when required and he didn't bother spending any extra time with them in the tower, preferring to just stay in bed, lost to his own thoughts.

What they didn't know was a couple times during those silent periods he had tried to contact Kyuubi. However he quickly found that impossible with the seal there. He could feel the biju just on the edge of his mind but couldn't reach it. He couldn't even reach its chakra. Without the control necessary for the Gogyo Kai (Five Elements Release) Naruto was unable to contact the demon or draw on its chakra. Not that Naruto needed it; he just wanted to see if the biju was alright. While Naruto hated the demon, and Kyuubi only had a very mild respect for him simply because of his battle skills; the two did recognize that working together was in the best interest of both sides. The only problem was since Naruto hated Kyuubi he wouldn't trust anything the demon said or attempted, even if it seemed beneficial. Kyuubi likewise refused to help Naruto unless truly needed because it felt it would diminish the boys' skills if he relied on its power. Hence the two would work together when needed, but hated doing it and tried to avoid it as much as possible. The only time they willingly worked together was when Naruto wanted someone to suffer since Kyuubi liked watching a bloodthirsty Naruto fight.

The blond genin groaned as he got out of the shower and dried himself off before dressing in his normal gear. These thoughts could wait until after the exams.

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><p>"Congratulations on passing the second portion of the Chunin Exams." Anko called out as the genin stood in a grid pattern next to their teammates. All the passing teams were gathered in a large room with two stone hands set in the ram seal. There was also a balcony where the Hokage, a few chunin and all the jonin-sensei to the passing teams were. The passing teams were Naruto's, the Suna team, the Oto team, Neji's, Kabuto's, the newest Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and Kiba's. Anko stepped back as the Hokage stepped forward. He gave a speech about the Exams and how they weren't just to test their skill but also a replacement for war. That bit of knowledge made Naruto grit his teeth but stay silent, even as Kiba called out and demanded to know why they had to risk their lives for something like that. Sarutobi answered him that it was a shinobi's duty to risk life and limb for their country and village. He also explained that the truest way to test a persons' skill was in life and death situations, hence the Exams simulated that to the highest level while still trying to maintain a controlled environment, which made Naruto scoff though nobody called him out on it since the older generation knew exactly why he felt that way. Sarutobi was about to explain the next portion of the test when a jonin dropped down and knelt before him.<p>

"Excuse me Hokage-sama but *cough* I believe I should explain the next phase." The old Kage nodded so the man stood and turned to face the genin. "My name is Gekko Hayate and I will *cough* be your proctor for the next round of the exams. The third round is one on one single fights between the remaining participants. Also, this is no longer a team exam so teamwork *cough* is no longer necessary to pass. Before we can begin the third phase though we must have a preliminary." This got many to cry out demanding answers. "Unfortunately, it seems the first and second tests were too easy as *cough* we have too many genin remaining. The third round is watched by many important visitors such as *cough* daimyos and nobles. As such we have to keep the matches short, meaning less people may compete. So by Chunin Exam rules, we must lower the amount of participants with a preliminary. As I said before, this is no longer *cough cough* a team test. If you feel like you can not participate you may forfeit now without worry for your team. Are there any that wish to do so?" He asked as the older shinobi looked over the genin.

Normally, this would be where Kabuto would quit. However he knew if he did that Naruto would think something was off, especially since they had done missions together so the blond knew what Kabuto's 'skill level' was. But someone from their team had to in order to give Orochimaru the info they acquired on the other genin during the second test. With a discreet flick of his hand his teammate Misumi nodded. "I'm out."

"You are Tsurugi Misumi, correct?" Hayate questioned just to be sure.

"Yeah, my arms pretty bad from the forest so I'm gonna drop out here." Hayate nodded as Misumi spoke to Kabuto for a moment and was discreetly handed the info before walking out. The rest of the genin waited for a moment to decide whether to stay or not before choosing to continue and compete.

"Alright if that's all then we *cough* will begin the preliminaries. Pay attention to the screen above as it will *cough* will randomly decide the matches." Hayate announced while pointing to a black screen that was revealed when a wall panel moved back automatically. Names flashed across the screen in yellow as everyone awaited the decision.

**Akado Yoroi vs. Uchiha Sasuke**

"Will the competitors stay down here for the match? The rest may join your *cough* sensei's up above." The genin left at the jonin's words to the upper level while Sasuke and Yoroi waited down below. When the others were up above Hayate explained the rules. "As I mentioned earlier these are one on one single fights. You fight until one person is dead, unconscious or forfeits. If I deem a match finished I may also call it off as well. Outside interference or disobeying me *cough cough* is an immediate disqualification and failure in the exams. Do you both understand?" Both genin nodded so Hayate leapt back. "Then Hajime!"

"I've got this in the bag!" Yoroi shouted as he rushed forward to attack. Sasuke quickly activated his Sharingan and saw the chakra build up in his hand. Waiting for the exact moment he ducked out of the way as Yoroi swung at him just to come up with an uppercut. Without missing a beat he unsealed his sword and swung down at Yoroi who rolled away to dodge the massive cleaver.

"Holy shit, that's the Kubikiribocho! How did he get one of Kiri's seven swords?" Tenten shouted from her place above the arena. Naruto chuckled slightly making her face him since he was nearby.

"We encountered Momochi Zabuza on our last mission and I swiped the blade from him. I don't need it so I gave it to Sasuke to use." Naruto explained as Sasuke began to slash at the rapidly back-pedaling Yoroi, who was noticeably pale hearing he was against one of the seven most legendary swords in the world. Tenten gave him a pout as he faced her with a smirk. "Had Sasuke not wanted it I would've given it to you Tenten. I mean, nobody else in Konoha knows weapons like you do. I just felt it best to offer it to my teammates first since neither really had anything more than the Academy basics." Well, that wasn't entirely true since Sasuke had some fire jutsu. But the point was they were essentially fresh, meaning learning a new style of fighting to go with a powerful weapon was perfectly fine since they weren't experienced enough to be stuck into a set fighting style like most veteran shinobi become.

"Take this!" Yoroi shouted as he made a ram seam and set off an explosive tag he managed to place on the Kubikiri. Sasuke dropped the sword and leapt back as the tag went off and the blade exploded. The Uchiha grit his teeth as the smoke cleared and all that was left of the sword was the handle and a small portion of the blade. Tenten looked horrified that someone could break such a legendary weapon while Naruto and a couple jonin that knew about the blade chuckled. Sasuke quickly smirked as he ran forward and picked up the broken sword and continued charging at Yoroi. "Like a broken sword will help you!" He taunted as he tried to grab Sasuke with his glowing hand once more. The young Uchiha dodged to the side before swiftly cutting the older genin across the back. Yoroi screamed in pain and dropped to his knees as he turned around and gasped at what he saw. The blood from his wound was flowing into the blade as it started to grow and repair itself in front of everyone. Sasuke smirked at the look as he was pretty sure it was the same one he had when he learned about the sword.

"_Okay Sasuke, before we get started on training you to actually use this monster, I think you should know what it does."_

"_What are you talking about, it's just a sword. How can it do anything?" The two were in a clearing in one of the more wooded training grounds as Sakura was working with Kakashi at their normal ones. Naruto was holding the Kubikiri as Sasuke stood a couple feet away with a confused look. Naruto deadpanned before taking a kunai and channeling wind chakra through it and cutting about half a foot of the blades' tip. "What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke shouted. If Naruto was going to give him a legendary sword just to destroy it then why bother in the first place?_

"_How come the seven swords of Kiri are just as legendary as their wielders if they were _just _swords?" Naruto asked rhetorically, catching Sasuke's attention. "Because each sword has an ability that became just as famous. One could channel lightning to a level that they could control the weather to a small extent, another could shape shift, and one was even alive to some extent. This once though, has a supplementary ability." Naruto explained as he then used the kunai to cut his hand and let the blood drop on the sword. Instantly the blood was absorbed and fixed itself to perfect condition, even as the piece of metal he chopped off remained on the ground. "There are special seals in the handle that allow the blade to suck up blood to regenerate itself from the iron found in it. So as long as you have the handle, it doesn't matter how chipped or damaged the sword becomes because you can just get a single good cut on your enemy and restore it instantly. Its only in the handle though so make sure you don't lose it, since if it was in the blade then people could just grow copies of the sword all the time." Sasuke grinned as Naruto handed him the now fixed sword. It was a perfect weapon for him, because it would always remain perfect for him._

"This sword can repair itself with blood so go ahead and destroy it as much as you want. A single injury and it'll be right back to perfect." Sasuke explained to the shocked genin around them. He then held the blade up ready to cleave Yoroi in two. "So you may as well give up, or you're going to end up in pieces." Yoroi considered his options before turning to Hayate and nodding.

"Winner by surrender, Uchiha Sasuke!" Said genin smirked before sealing the blade away and walking back to his team as a medic came and helped Yoroi out of the arena. Sakura and Kakashi congratulated Sasuke while Naruto just smirked and nodded. The Uchiha let out a smirk of his own as they all turned to see who the next match would be.

**Kankuro vs. Yakushi Kabuto**

"Good luck Kabuto." Naruto called out as the white haired teen passed him. Kabuto smiled as he headed down while the Suna genin came down from the other end. Hayate looked to see both ready before starting the match. Kabuto drew a kunai and rushed in to swing at the other teen but was blocked by a quickly drawn kunai of his own. The two began trading blows before it looked like Kabuto had the upper hand as he managed to cut Kankuro across the face. However, rather than blood coming out, the face cracked and chipped off revealing a wooden three eyed visage underneath.

"A puppet!" Kabuto exclaimed while jumping back as the bandages on the puppet's back unfurled to reveal the real Kankuro.

"That's right, so take this!" He shouted as he manipulated his battle doll into launching senbon from its mouth. Kabuto did his best to block them all but one got through and stabbed his leg. "Ha! All of Karasu's weapons are coated in a powerful poison. So give up or die in the next few minutes." Kankuro demanded. Kabuto grit his teeth as he made a few seals and his hand glowed green. He held it over his leg while pulling out the senbon before shaking his head.

"I surrender. I may be a medic ninja but this poison is complex. By the time I'd cure myself of it he'd kill me some other way." Hayate nodded as he announced Kankuro the winner. The boy smirked and wrapped his puppet back up with a quick gesture before tossing Kabuto a vial with green liquid. "The antidote?" Kankuro just nodded with a smirk as he walked up to his team to await the next match. Kabuto swiftly down the vial as he stood up and slowly walked back up himself. Naruto gave Kabuto a reassuring grin as he walked up.

"You're medic skills are good but you really need more combat stuff Kabuto." The teen nodded as he lightly laughed.

"Yeah I guess so. But that's just something I'll have to work on for next time right?" Was his answer before he went to stand by his team. While in reality he could've taken apart Kankuro in one or two moves, he needed to play the part so he took a dive. Luckily though, only his sensei and teammates knew his true skill level so nobody else noticed. He played himself true to the 'Kabuto' that Konoha knew.

**Nara Shikamaru vs. Tsumi Kin**

The match was short as Shikamaru managed to quickly trick Kin into getting caught by his Kage Mane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession Technique) and then used it to make her knock herself out. Against the wall no less.

**Temari vs. Tenten**

While Naruto had wanted Tenten to win, the girl couldn't get past the wind defense of the Suna ninja and was quickly defeated from just one powerful jutsu.

**Akamichi Choji vs. Dosu**

Though his sensei had gotten Choji inspired with the promise of food for a victory, Dosu was able to use his sound jutsu to counter Choji's every move and win.

**Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuga Neji**

"So it's my turn now." Naruto muttered as he made his way down with Neji a few steps behind him. As soon as the two were down on the floor Hayate called for the match to begin. Neither moved nor got into a stance as the two stared at each other with blank looks before the silence was broken.

"I've been hoping for a chance to face you Naruto-san. To be honest I was somewhat looking forward to it." Neji spoke. The blond raise and eyebrow so Neji continued. "Everything in life is determined by fate. A person's skill level, every step they take, even their eventual end; all is foretold the moment they are born by fate. And that is why I've wanted to face you. Because your standing with fate confuses me."

"My standing?" Naruto repeated, frowning slightly as Neji nodded his head.

"That's right. My teammate Lee graduated at the bottom, the class dobe who cannot use any ninjutsu or genjutsu. As such, he is destined to a life of struggle and mediocrity like the failure he is. I was at the top and as such will succeed to be a skilled shinobi, just as fate dictates for me. But you… You graduated two years early suggesting that you are a genius like me and will one day be a mighty shinobi. Something that has already begun to happen even. Yet, you also were the dobe of the class when you graduated, marking you as a failure that will struggle and never attain that which you hope for. What fate has in store for you is clouded to me and as such I hoped to face you so that I could discern your fate for myself."

"All of this, just because of the graduation standings?"

"Not just the graduation standings, they were merely the first major event as they were the beginning of our shinobi lives. I remember when our team first did a mission with yours, shortly before those exams in Iwa. You were loud, brash, and utterly worthless. A true failure just as your dobe status suggested. Yet when we did a mission together again merely four months later you were confident, silent, and merciless to the target. You were the epitome of a shinobi as one would expect from an early graduate and genius in our choice of career. So which are you; the failure or the genius? You records start off with one but then change to the other. Just what has fate labeled you as that would make it switch between the two?" Neji pondered aloud as Naruto looked down with a frown on his face. Above on the second level Hinata seemed to try and shrink into herself as she knew that part of that failure talk was silently directed at her. Kakashi sighed as he looked down. Neji and Naruto had never gotten along. First it was because of Neji's superior attitude that pissed the old Naruto off. Then it became the fact that Naruto now confused Neji and the blond was cold and distant to just about everyone which only made the Hyuga more confused and thus angry. Everything was always clear to Neji, especially with his Byakugan, so he didn't like when something was confusing.

"That's what this is about then? Well fine, I know where I stand so I'll just tell you." Neji raised a brow as Naruto raised his head. "I'm a failure. On missions I would always be one step behind Koji and Sakuya, requiring them to slow down or step in to help because I couldn't do it right or fast enough. In the village I'm hated to the point nobody bothers to even look at me mostly. I'm a failure because when it mattered most, my team died because of me. I couldn't move fast enough so the one I looked up to as a brother had to sacrifice himself to save me. I'm a failure because the girl I loved took a fatal blow, just to save my life." Naruto spoke softly at that, to the point that he almost wasn't heard. But then his face hardened as he continued. "And I'm a failure, because I couldn't even avenge them since Iwagakure still stands." His voice was tinged with malice and anger, enough that a few shivered though one read head was now staring at Naruto in interest. This statement shocked many, outside the few that knew his views already, as nobody expected a genin to want to destroy a hidden village.

"Then you should give up. A failure stands no chance against me." Neji mocked. Naruto shook his head.

"Just because I'm a failure doesn't mean I can't win."

"Yes it does. Fate won't allow a failure to beat a genius."

"Oh really? Tell me, you know Jiraiya of the Sannin?" Neji nodded at Naruto's question, unsure of what the blond was trying to get at. "How would you say fate has marked him?"

"As an elite and mighty shinobi. Surely a genius capable of being Hokage should he wish it." Naruto smirked.

"Did you know Jiraiya was the dobe of his class?"

"What?"

"Yeah. Jiraiya, a man you just said was highly skilled and could even be Hokage was the class dobe. If he was marked as a failure by fate, how could he get that strong? My own sensei, Hatake Kakashi. Did you know he considers himself a failure because of what happened to his own team?" Naruto pointed out with a thumb to the one-eyed man. Said jonin was quiet but knew what Naruto was saying was the truth. Neji was silent as Naruto continued. "Being a failure doesn't mean you'll lose at everything or that you can't accomplish anything. It just means you have to work a little harder than everyone else to get what you want. A failure can accomplish just as much as a genius could. A failure can still win or accomplish their dreams. All it takes is work and the will to try. But you're holding yourself back by claiming it's all fate. Rather than work towards your victories or earn your skills, you take them for granted because you think that's just how it's supposed to be because 'fate has decreed it.' But that's not how it works. And I'll prove it too you, by showing you that a failure can beat a genius right now." Naruto finished by pushing chakra into the seal on his glove to bring out the Kagirinai Buyou. He twirled it around before getting into his stance with it, his gauntlet covered left held out while the weapon spun slowly in his right hand behind him.

"So be it. I'll prove that fate exists by showing that a failure cannot defeat a genius." Neji muttered as he got into his Jyuuken stance. While what Naruto pointed out about two of Konoha's strongest shinobi was shocking, Neji knew to put it in the back of his mind and focus on the fight. He could always check things later after he proved fate to the blond before him. Neither moved before Naruto's foot seemed to twist slightly. Without warning he was already halfway to Neji and swinging one end of the double bladed naginata at Neji's chest. The Hyuga coated his hand in chakra and deflected the blade to the side only for Naruto to twist the weapon in his hand to keep momentum going and lash out with the other side instantly. Neji repeated his maneuver to defend himself as the result was one more Naruto twisting the blade to continue his attack with the same momentum behind it as the first strike.

Kakashi sighed as the two began what looked like an intricate dance as Neji would either deflect or dodge a slash only to repeat the move again as the other side would lash out instantly. "Sorry Gai, Neji's lost this since the first attack." The cyclops spoke to his long-time (eccentric and slightly crazy) friend next to him. The man stared at the fight for a moment before sighing and nodding his head.

"Yes, though I hate to admit it. Naruto-kun has this battle in his hands and is merely drawing the conflict out for some reason, presumably to show Neji that his fatalistic view of the world is misguided and wrong." The bowl-cut jonin replied. Both team's remaining genin were confused as it looked like Neji, while stuck on the defensive, was holding his own against Naruto.

"What are you talking about? Neji looks like he is doing fine and will soon show his flames of youth!" Lee commented.

"Yeah, Naruto has the advantage with his reach but a quick counter and Neji could turn this match around instantly." Sakura added, though inwardly creeped out by Lee's 'flames of youth' comment. Kakashi shook his head though as Gai sighed.

"Against any other opponent that would be true. However Naruto-kun is copying the style of his former flame and fighting just as she would." This got confused looks so Kakashi elaborated on what Gai meant.

"The Kagirinai Buyou used to be Sakuya's, but when she died Naruto took it so that he'd feel as if Sakuya was still with him whenever he used it." Kakashi commented as Neji ducked under a faster strike than before as he noticed the attacks were beginning to get faster. "To help him feel closer to her, he even began to train and copy her fighting style with the weapon, to the point he's almost as skilled with it as she was. Her fighting style was called Mugen Kuresshendo (Infinite Crescendo) and was unique to her weapon. It works by keeping the blade in constant motion through the spinning and twisting with the wrist. As such, each attack carries the momentum and force of all the previous ones so long as the blade keeps moving. You notice how it seems like Naruto's attacks are getting faster as the battle carries on?" Kakashi pointed out as the genin looked back to see Neji stuck against the wall deflecting strikes at such a pace it seemed like both his hands and the weapon were a blur. "Since the blade never stops moving, the momentum keeps at a high level. Not only that but by maneuvering it correctly, Naruto can even use the momentum from his enemies' deflections to increase the speed and power of his own attacks. In theory, there's no limit to the power and speed he can build up to unleash on his target since any attempt to block and deflect it will instead be transferred into the next strike, just continually adding more power and speed until the enemy can't stand up to it anymore. Neji lost the moment he tried to block the weapon because all he did was get Naruto started. The only weak point I've found in it is that eventually the blade starts moving too fast for Naruto to keep control over so he has to slow down which lets me break through to attack him. But that speed is higher than normal genin can keep up with."

'_How is he doing this?' _Neji thought as he pushed the blade away just to be forced to push the other side away just as fast. _'He admitted himself to be a failure! By fate's decree, he cannot stand up to me! So how is it that I can barely keep up?' _Neji's thoughts were derailed as he felt a small cut on his hand as he blocked another strike. The blade had picked up speed again and apparently he couldn't fully keep up anymore. _'Damn! I was hoping to keep this for the finals but I have no choice!' _Neji pushed out chakra from his body to slow the blade before spinning on his face causing a dome of chakra to form as it shoved Naruto back. "Kaiten!" (Rotation)

Naruto fell back but was quick to steady himself as he kept the blade spinning behind him, far faster than the slow spin he started with but not at the same speed he was just using it at. Up above Hinata gasped at seeing her cousin use the jutsu as it was a main house technique and he was of the branch. "I thought a failure couldn't match a genius Neji? It looked to me like you were barely keeping up. And honestly? I was holding back."

"What?" Neji spat out as he leveled a glare at Naruto who shrugged in response as he kept his blade spinning.

"I don't want to kill you since you are a Konoha shinobi. I could've started at that speed and gone faster than you could keep up with in just a few moves but chose to limit myself because I don't want to hurt a fellow comrade. I may think your fate attitude is wrong and annoying but that's not enough of a reason to kill you." Naruto explained as Neji grit his teeth.

"I will not be mocked by a failure." He muttered as he shifted into a lower stance, one Hinata recognized instantly as another main house technique. "I'll destroy you in just one move. And this will be over now because you are within my field of divination. Hakke: Rokujuuyonsho!" (Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms) Neji quickly dashed to Naruto and struck out with two fingers to jab him but was quickly blocked by Naruto swinging the Kagirinai Buyou in front of him. "Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen! Thirty-two! Hakke: Rokujuuyonsho!" Neji called out as he continued his attack in the hopes to strike Naruto. However each attack was blocked by his weapon until the final hit. Naruto spun to the side of the outstretched palm and spun his blade down, giving Neji a deep gash across his chest. The Hyuga gasped in pain and dropped to his knees clutching the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding as the weapon spun before stopping just in front of his throat.

"I could've done that at the very beginning of your attack but didn't because I wanted to show you just how far hard work has taken a failure like me. I've failed multiple times in the past and will always think of myself as a failure for what's happened in my life. However that doesn't mean I am weak, just as you being a 'genius' doesn't mean your invincible. Everyone has strengths and weakness and everyone can lose. It's just a matter of how much work is going to be put into it and how hard each side tries. So don't blame fate for anything, it's just an excuse so you can give up and feel okay about it. I hope you learn that and change yourself for the better Neji. You have too much skill to be held back by your so called 'fate' beliefs." Naruto spoke before drawing his blade back and using a quick roundhouse kick to knock the older genin unconscious.

"Winner *cough* Uzumaki Naruto!" Hayate called out as Naruto resealed his weapon and walked up to his team. He ignored how the younger Ino-Shika-Cho team seemed somewhat scared of him as he passed, though the Nara was staring at him in curiosity with narrowed eyes, just as he ignored that Hinata was switching between looking down to where Neji was being taken by medics to him with apprehension as if she wanted to say something but couldn't figure out what. However all eyes were drawn to the board as the next match was chosen.

**Abumi Zaku vs. Aburame Shino**

The match was over quickly as Shino used his clan's famed insects to clog the tunnels in Zaku's arms to cause them to implode. It didn't help that Zaku was slower from the pain of the gash on his chest Sasuke delivered in the forest.

**Inuzuka Kiba vs. Rock Lee**

While Kiba was energetic and jumped down quickly for his match, just like Lee did, in the end Kiba lost. Lee had used his superior taijutsu and speed to take Kiba down before the younger genin could use any of his clan's jutsu or before he could give Akamaru a soldier pill to bolster him, meaning both were left with their base abilities which just weren't enough to deal with Lee. Most wished death on the green clad genin right after the match as he jumped up to his sensei and the two hugged, springing out an illusion of a sunset at the beach. For some reason this was horrifying to everyone there and many tried a genjutsu release just to find that it wouldn't break until the two stopped hugging a minute later. While confused as to how they did such a jutsu, nobody wanted them to repeat it.

**Yamanaka Ino vs. Haruno Sakura**

The two old Academy rivals looked to each other with a smirk before heading down for their match. As the two reached the floor Ino couldn't help but try to rile Sakura up. "I'm going to win this easily forehead, after all it's not like you can fight. And then when I win, Sasuke-kun will see how strong I am and will be mine." Sakura stared at her for a few seconds to the point that Ino was beginning to think something was wrong before Sakura suddenly scoffed.

"Naruto, was I really that bad when Sasuke-kun and I were put with you?" She asked as she looked up to her teammates. Sasuke nodded his head as Naruto chuckled.

"Add a voice that could break glass and yeah you were." Sakura huffed at his jab at her voice before turning back to the now utterly confused Ino.

"Look Ino-pig, I may still want to be with Sasuke-kun, but I've come to learn that on missions or other important things like this Exam, trying to get love can wait. I don't know about you but I've trained harder then ever before because Sasuke-kun and Naruto were so far ahead it just made me seem like a useless burden. I wasn't a teammate; I was a tag-along that needed to be protected just as much as the client would be. So I started training, not to earn Sasuke-kun's affections but to earn both his and Naruto's respect. I started training so that I could stand _with _them, not behind them in fear. And now, while I may not have the power or flashy jutsus those two have, I have skills that they appreciate and can work with when we need to plan our actions or complete the mission. I'm not the strongest on the team by a long hot, but at least I know I can stand on the team without needing to be cared for like some precious wall flower."

"So? I've trained just as hard as you!" Ino shot out, getting angry that Sakura was talking as if she was better. The pink haired girl just shook her head.

"Remember our little scuffle right before the first test? Remember how you were trying to hit me and I was barely holding you off?" Ino's eyes widened as she realized what Sakura was getting at getting the girl to let out a small grin. "Yeah, I was faking it. That would've been how the Academy Sakura held up against you. But I've changed Ino, and I'm not a useless fan girl anymore. I'm a proud kunoichi of Konoha, and I will not lose!" Sakura declared as Hayate started the match. Ino pulled out some shuriken and threw them at her rival as Sakura started running through hand signs. Just as the shuriken connected the pink haired girl vanished and was replaced with a log. Ino pulled out a kunai and spun around and prepared herself for anything. Multiple Sakura's appeared all running towards Ino with either their fists raised or a kunai of their own at the ready. The blond was slightly scared at the sight of so many targets rushing her but did her best to push it aside and start tossing kunai and shuriken at the multiple girls. All started vanishing in bursts of smoke as they were struck until there were only two left at which point she dodged the punch of one and jumped back from the kunai stab of the other. She wasn't sure which was the clone and which was real but she wasn't going to take chances with either so she had avoided both just in case. Pulling out another kunai Ino was about to charge them when she felt metal at her throat. She tilted her head slightly to see what it was and saw another kunai at her throat held by another Sakura.

"How?" Sakura pointed to the two she was facing before as they seemed to just faze out of existence. "What?"

"Earlier when you threw the shuriken and I used the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique), I cast a genjutsu over both myself and you. One made me invisible to my target, you, and the other made you think you were being attacked by multiple copies of me. It was pretty easy then to sneak up behind you while you were trapped fighting fakes."

"But you… but I…" Ino stuttered, unable to accept that Sakura had overcome her so easily. It wasn't possible in her mind since while Sakura had always been a little smarter than her, Ino had always been better at jutsu.

"I've learned that I have exceptionally good chakra control, a necessity for genjutsu or medical ninjutsu. So Kakashi-sensei first taught me a few genjutsu to hide myself and others so I'd be safe while training up my body to keep up with Sasuke-kun and Naruto. Then he taught me a few to confuse the enemy so that I could fight. Like I said earlier, I may not be as strong, but at least now I can stand beside them in combat." Sakura explained while nudging her neck slightly with the kunai. "So give up Ino. You've lost."

"I… but I… I can't…" Ino stuttered, still trying to come to terms with how much Sakura seems to have surpassed her before closing her eyes, small tears gathered at the edge. "I give up." She muttered pitifully, now accepting that she really had lost. Hayate declared Sakura the winner which made her put away her kunai and walk around to face Ino.

"You just have to train more Ino. But no hard feelings, right?" Ino wiped her eyes with one of her arms before giving a small smile.

"Yeah, no hard feelings." The two walked up to the stands again as Hayate called the last two down for the final match.

**Sabaku no Gaara vs. Hyuga Hinata**

The two walked down to the floor, though Hinata was nervous as to how she'd do. Gaara stood impassively as Hayate looked over both genin. "Um… G-good luck Gaara-san." Hinata offered as she stood across from him.

"Luck is for the weak. Start the match so that it may rain blood." Well that wasn't worrying in the slightest. The girl went wide-eyed and looked ready to forfeit right there as Hayate looked her over.

"Are both fighters ready?" Gaara gave a quick nod as he stood stoically waiting for the match to begin. Hinata was still unsure but nodded her head as she got into her stance. "Then Hajime!" Without waiting Hinata rushed forward and tried to land a palm strike on Gaara's shoulder in the hopes of disabling his arm. Instantly sand flew out of the large gourd on Gaara's back and blocked her attack. The sand shook and fell from the chakra in the blow that disrupted the flow in the sand but more quickly surged out and slammed Hinata back as she cried out in pain.

"Is that all you have?" He asked coldly as Hyuga heiress stood back up and stared at the sand in shock. He hadn't used any seals or called out any jutsu for the sand to protect him. It just did it automatically. "If that is all then your blood is not worth feeding to mother." Gaara narrowed his eyes as more sand flew out to grab the heiress as she rolled to the side to dodge. However she had to keep moving as more and more sand kept coming to grab her and she started running. Hoping he was unprotected while the sand chased her she pulled a couple shuriken out and threw them at Gaara, just for more sand from his gourd to come our and block the metal stars without stopping the other sand chasing her. Hinata was getting scared now as she had no idea how to win when more sand moved up from the ground in front of her and tripped her. She fell to the ground as sand wrapped around her legs and lifted her up. With a mental command the sand started slamming her against the ground and walls as her teammates and sensei called out her name in worry. The sand quickly tossed her to the other side of the arena as she struck the giant hands. Hinata coughed out blood as she tried to stand, seeing the not only had Gaara not even moved, but he looked disgusted with her. "So weak. You will not prove my existence." He muttered as the sand formed a large spike above her. Seeing that she had no way to hurt him and that she was too injured to dodge she cried out in fear.

"I surrender!" Hayate called out that Gaara won but the spike didn't vanish. Rather it sped at the downed girl to skewer her.

"Hinata!" Kiba, Shino and Kurenai all called out as the spike was about to impale the girl. Just before it did though she vanished while the spike crashed into the ground, cracking it. Gaara narrowed his eyes before turning to see Naruto standing to the side setting Hinata down. The girl was staring at her savior in shock and awe as he turned around to level a cold glare at Gaara.

"What the hell is your problem? She surrendered you ass!" The sand Gaara used to make the spike gathered and spiraled lazily around him as he stared at Naruto.

"What does it matter to me? I have not won until all threats to my existence are dead." Naruto grit his teeth as the gauntlet on his left hand erupted in fire. "Tell me, you are like me. So why do you protect her? She is weak. Worthless. Why risk yourself for another?"

"Because that's what comrades do. They protect each other. I may not know her personally but she's a shinobi of Konoha and that's enough for me to know I'd give my life to keep her safe." Naruto replied, confusing Gaara. "I promised myself after my old team died that I would never let a comrade die in front of me again and I never go back on my word. Even if it costs me my life, I would give everything to protect the village and its people!" Gaara was silent before the sand swirled around the entrance to his gourd as it was all sucked back inside.

"I thought you were like me as we are both jinchuriki but I was wrong. You are weak because you fight for others. I look forward to offering your blood to mother." Naruto scoffed but cut the chakra to the gauntlet so the flames died out before turning back to Hinata.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he knelt down to her and looked her over. He silently had to admit to himself that the girl was definitely beautiful. He could easily tell she hid an hourglass figure underneath her baggy jacket while her lavender eyes drew his attention.

"I-I'm fine. Th-thank you." Hinata stuttered out as she looked at his face. He was quite handsome to her, that was something she immediately took note off. His clear blue eyes and whisker markings gave him a sort of charm to the girl. However it was being so close to him that seemed to jumpstart her memory of why he was familiar. "I know you!" She exclaimed quietly as he seemed confused for a second before shaking his head.

"Sadly I can't say the same, however now is not the time for this. If you'd like, I can stop by the Hyuga compound to speak with you later but for now you should be getting treated by the medics for your injuries." Hinata sighed but nodded as he stepped back while a couple medics came up and helped her out. She gave one last look to Naruto and mouthed thank you as he simply gave a gentle smile and nodded before facing the proctor as he called all the victors down. Had he kept his gaze on her a moment longer he would've seen the rather large blush that spread across her face from the smile.

"Now that the preliminaries are done, you will all draw lots to see who your opponents will be in the finals." Hayate ordered as Anko came up and held out a box. All the genin came up and drew out a slip of paper before stepping back. "Now call out your number so that we may mark it down for the bracket."

"Two." Sasuke grunted out.

"Three." Kankuro called.

"Five." Shikamaru muttered, barely loud and clear enough for the proctors to make out.

"Six." Temari declared with a smirk, guessing she'd be facing the Nara next to her if the numbers played out like she expected them to.

"Eight." Dosu growled, having hoped to get one so that he could somehow complete his mission to kill the Uchiha.

"Ten." Naruto called calmly.

"Four." Shino spoke without any indication as to what he was thinking about his match up.

"One!" Lee shouted as he happily held up his number, again creeping some people out with his enthusiasm.

"Seven." Sakura called out her number.

"Nine." Gaara growled out. Hayate nodded as he put the numbers down and then turned the paper he was writing on around to show the matches they'd be participating in.

1- Rock Lee vs. Uchiha Sasuke

2- Kankuro vs. Aburame Shino

3- Temari vs. Nara Shikamaru

4- Haruno Sakura vs. Dosu

5- Sabaku no Gaara vs. Uzumaki Naruto

6- Winner of One vs. Winner of Two

7- Winner of Three vs. Winner of Four vs. Winner of Five

8- Winner of Six vs. Winner of Seven

The genin all looked to there first opponents, seemingly sizing them up before they all stopped and looked at Naruto and Gaara as the two raised their killing intent while staring stoically at each other. After a moment Hayate coughed to get their attention so both dropped the intent to face the proctor. "Now that all of you know your opponents, you will have one month to prepare." This confused a couple genin so Sarutobi stepped up to elaborate.

"As you were told before the fights began, the finals are watched by many daimyos and nobles. However they are not here right now in the village. We will be sending out the notices to you villages as well as the various people that will be attending. In exactly thirty days at the Konoha Arena, the finals to this exam will take place. These thirty days are not just for us to bring in our guests but also for you genin to rest and recover. Also, while the preliminaries were fought under the guise of an unknown enemy with unknown skills, the finals are different. This time you know who's coming, and part of what they can do. You will be expected to prepare a plan to counter your opponents while also leaving yourself fresh to face down you next opponent. Not only that but you may train to learn new skills to surprise your enemy in battle with."

"With the way the tournament is set up, can only one of us be chunin?" Shikamaru asked. The aged Hokage shook his head.

"While it may seem that way, it is not so. Each match will be watched by various judges in addition to myself and the leaders of your respective villages. Every genin will be judged not just on victory or defeat but on how they battle. Chunin are team leaders which is why all your matches will be watched for those who show the right qualities. Intelligence, skill, technique; these are just a few things you will be judged by. Simply winning your matches means you have more opportunities to show just why you should be chunin."

"So it's possible all of us could become chunin?" Sakura asked and the Hokage nodded in reply before speaking.

"Yes but it is just as likely that none of you will. It's possible to lose in your first match but so long as you show you have what it takes you can still become a chunin. As I said, winning only gives you more chances to show your worthy of the promotion. Now you are all dismissed."

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><p>And the prelims are finished. Threw in a small NaruHina moment as well as a promise of more for the future. When I get back to this story I'll put out the month long break in a chapter or two and then get started on the exams and following invasion. To be honest, I've had the entire Naruto vs. Gaara fight all planned out since the very beginning of this fic and couldn't wait to get to it. Now that I'm almost there I can't wait. But I've abandoned my other 'main' stories long enough so I'm gonna go work on them before getting back to this. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter because it'll be the last one for a month or two. See ya later!<p> 


	16. 16

**Meck Viking:** I actually noticed that myself. Neji was always going on about 'fate' and genius or failure labels just because of the graduation standings and yet Jiraiya is living proof he's wrong yet nobody brings him up in a conversation with the boy, even if Naruto happens to be best friends with the man at the time to know this fact. That's why I had to bring it up. Plus Kakashi does blame himself for what happened to Obito, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to believe he thinks of himself as a failure in some manner. And Kakashi is well known as one of Konoha's strongest as well. Though he's not as good as an example since he was a jonin at twelve, he aids Neji's argument just as much as he disproves it.

**Twilifay:** I chose to not do the Neji-Hinata fight because I want to change Neji in a different way. Plus, for my plans, he still needs a bit of the resentment he has against the Main branch. Not all of it, like I won't let him continue to blame Hinata when it wasn't her fault and when she's done absolutely nothing against him or any Branch member, but he will still be anti-Main house to an extent.

**Author00:** Yeah that was intentional. And realistic as well. Hinata stood absolutely no chance against Gaara then. In fact I'd say no Hyuuga stands a chance against Gaara period since he's a distance fighter that can kill them before they get close. But I needed to give Hinata a fight and if I just switched hers and Naruto's opponents it would have been Hinata-Kiba and while allowed, I don't think they wanted to have teammates fight each other in the prelims. Maybe the actual exam okay, but not the prelims. So I had to switch her to something else and at the same time I wanted something to make Naruto step up for Hinata. So I looked at the canon matches and figured since he already has a slight problem with Gaara since they're both jinchuriki, I figured I'd give him a reason to genuinely dislike the red head and stand up for the girl at the same time.

**Noa Nee:** You're the only one to actually ask about that you know? With Naruto not being as bright and cheerful as his canon self, his ideological argument against Gaara's killer persona is actually quite different. At the same time though, it's similar enough that I could swing it if I wanted to, just change 'precious people' to 'comrades' in general. However I will not be using that argument other than maybe a quick sentence or two. You'll just have to wait until their fight for what I use.

**guitardude115: **Kurama will play a bigger role eventually, but for now it will remain a voice in his head that Naruto argues with. That won't be changing much at all until a certain story point.

**Dragon Man 180:** Naruto has used the Rasengan, twice actually. Once when he subdued Haku after waking up from his nightmares in Nami no Kuni (chapter 06) and again against Orochimaru (chapter 14).

**Anonymous:** No, I have a different plan for the invasion and Orochimaru will not be using the Edo Tensei on Sakuya and Koji.

**Authors Note:** Sorry for taking so long but real life has been a bitch. Not only that but I was focusing on the next chapter of my Shinku Akuma story until I hit a block on it. I tried to work past it but nothing was coming so I figured I'd come back to the story I have more inspiration for, and more planning as well. This chapter will cover the entire month break as well as have some more NaruHina in it for all you fans. So stop bugging me for more of that. I love the pairing myself but I'm not going to derail my plans just for some fluff that I can instead work into the actual plot.

Also to those of you who followed my Souru Chixeen story, sorry I discontinued it but I just couldn't get the next arc to work. I still have a timeline of major events as well as Naruto's completed move-set saved on my USB for those interested in adopting it. Go check the authors note on that story for more info.

Now onto this chapter.

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><p><strong>16 –<strong> Paths to Strength

"Congratulations on passing the preliminaries you three. You and the Suna team were the only full teams to pass." Kakashi praised to his genin as they left the forest. Stopping outside the chain link fence, Kakashi spun around to face his students. Sasuke had a smirk on his face as Sakura was smiling. Naruto though was scowling and staring off into no direction in particular and Kakashi knew the boy well enough to know why. He was trying to think up a good strategy to use against Gaara in a month. "Now, training plans for the month; I'm going to need to focus on Sasuke to both help him with his Sharingan and because I have experience fighting against the Goken (Strong Fist) that Lee and his sensei Gai practice. Sakura, I can leave you with a few scrolls and notes on genjutsu along with a few physical exercises. I also might be able to call in a favor to have you train with a genjutsu expert for the month but I'm not one-hundred percent on that. If I can though, then I'll send her to you to train with. And Naruto, I believe your godfather will be in town in a day or so. So you could ask him for training or work on your own like you've done before. Unless you'd like me to find someone to help you?" Kakashi asked as Naruto pondered it for a moment.

"No thanks." He answered a minute later while shaking his head. "I should be fine either by myself or with him." Kakashi nodded before turning back to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Okay then. Now Sasuke, I'd like for you to pack for one month. I'll be taking you to a good training area outside the village tomorrow afternoon to get started. This will let you relax from the test and give me time to go call in that favor for Sakura." The Uchiha heir nodded his head in understanding while Sakura looked slightly down since she wouldn't be able to see Sasuke at all during the month since he'd be gone for all of it. "Now Sakura, if I can't get who I'm thinking of then I'll want you to work hard on the exercises I'll leave you. You could even go ask Naruto for help if he's not busy." Naruto nodded his agreement so Sakura let out a small smile before Kakashi turned and started walking away. "Well then team, let's go back and get something for dinner, my treat. And not ramen Naruto." Kakashi added without even looking back, making the blond shut his mouth with a frown.

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><p>Later that night Naruto walked home alone. He ignored the glares of the last few civilians out before the sun set while giving nods to the shinobi that did so to him. Word about the genin in the Chunin Exam finals would be spread tomorrow so for now, nobody knew anything different about him than they did beforehand. Stepping into his apartment he froze for a second at the sight of a man at his fridge before realizing who it was and relaxing. "You could've waited for me to get home Jiraiya."<p>

"Aw, but gaki, this is more fun! By the way, you need some more milk." The now identified Jiraiya shot back as Naruto took a seat on his couch. Jiraiya soon joined him, revealing himself to be an older man with spiky and long white hair styled into a ponytail as well as red tear track markings going down his face. Also, unlike other Konoha shinobi, his headband didn't have the spiral leaf of the village but rather the kanji for oil and small horns coming out of the top of it. "So, I heard Kakashi forced you into the Exams this time. You make it into the finals?"

"Yeah, and my opponent is the Ichibi jinchuriki from Suna, a kid my age named Gaara. He uses some kind of sand ninjutsu to attack and defend with it without requiring any hand seals. It activated either on its own or by thought alone."

"Yeesh, sounds tough kiddo. I think I heard about something like that so I'll look into it if I can. Too bad you suck at Suiton jutsu or the match would be a breeze." Jiraiya joked as Naruto sighed and leaned his head back onto the couch's back.

"Is there any reason you're here Jiraiya?" The older man frowned slightly at the tired but still cold tone the boy used before getting into why he did come.

"Yeah, two actually. I've already spoken to sensei and warned him so now I'm onto you. There's a group of S-rank shinobi outside of Konoha called Akatsuki. I'm not entirely sure on their motives or goals but I know a couple things for sure. One is that Orochimaru was once part of the group but then split and is now hiding from them. The other is that they have a very unhealthy interest in jinchuriki and the biju if you catch my drift."

"So now I'm going to be hunted by a group of people strong enough to scare Orochimaru of the Sannin, is that what you're saying?" Naruto asked as he glanced at his godfather. At Jiraiya's nod he closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face. "Damnit… I just can't get a break in life now can I?"

"Sorry Naruto but I'm just the messenger in this case. I'm doing my best to figure out what they want with the biju and their numbers and identities but haven't found much yet."

"What was that other thing you came here for?"

"I heard from sensei that your team was attacked by Orochimaru in the forest. I wanted to see if you were alright as well as find out what happened."

"He attacked, my nightmares acted up while he toyed with my teammates, I was snapped back to reality and fought him as best I could to let my teammates get away but was still toyed with. Then he hit me with a Gogyo Fuin and promised to destroy the village if the exams are cancelled."

"A lot less than I was expecting but that's for the best since I was thinking of the worst. And have you taken off the seal yet or not?"

"My controls still too fucked up to do so. I was going to go see Hokage-jiji about it tomorrow but since you're here, would ya mind?" Naruto asked as he lifted his shirt up to show the seal. Jiraiya looked it over a bit before nodding and charging chakra to his right hand in a specific way. The fingers all lit up with five light blue kanji representing the elements before he slammed the hand onto Naruto's exposed seal. The blond grit his teeth in pain as his chakra system was thrown painfully back into place before his natural healing took the pain away. Jiraiya checked over the seal for any changes before nodding again and sitting back up. "Thanks."

"Not a problem kid. So, what are your plans for the month of training? I've got nothing to do myself so I'm open if you need me."

"Good, cause I do. I need a high level sparring partner and you and the toads are just that. I've got a few jutsu ideas I need to work on as well and you can help with that too. And I'm not sure about this, since it hasn't been decided yet but my teammate Sakura may come by for some assistance as well and I said it was okay." Naruto explained, making Jiraiya crack a small grin.

"Alright then, I'll see what I can do if the kid comes by. So how about tomorrow at nine?"

"Yeah that's… wait. What is tomorrow?"

"Uh… Saturday the sixth. Why?"

"Just what Saturday is it?"

"The first of… oh right, first Saturday of the month right. Then Sunday at nine instead sound good to you?"

"Fine." Jiraiya gave the boy a grin which he waved off before heading out as Naruto stayed on his couch for a few more minutes. "I hate my life." Naruto muttered before standing up and heading towards his shower.

* * *

><p>"So do you think you can look in on Sakura for me?" Kakashi asked the kunoichi in front of him. She had long black hair and crimson red eyes that closed in thought as she thought of her plans for the month. "C'mon Kurenai, you can't say you weren't interested in seeing Sakura's further growth after he preliminary match against Ino. Plus, your only passing student will be getting exclusive clan training for the month so you're free."<p>

"I have two other students Kakashi. Did you think I'd simply let them slack off for the month since they lost?"

"Nope, rather I thought that when they aren't training with their clans but with you, they could be excellent sparring partners for Sakura to work with. Plus this gives your students a genjutsu user they can test themselves against that's actually around their skill level rather than one leagues above it." Kakashi countered with an eye-smile. Kurenai's lips quirked up into a smile of her own since it seemed Kakashi had thought of her own students as well as slipping in a compliment of her skill. Thinking on it a little more she realized that no harm would come of it, plus she was actually interested in seeing how far Sakura could go after watching her masterful use of two simultaneous mid-level genjutsu.

"Alright, I guess it couldn't hurt. Tell her I'll meet her at training ground eight tomorrow at ten."

"Thanks Kurenai. "

* * *

><p>~The Next Day~<p>

"Alright, time for some grub. Right Akamaru?" Kiba declared as he walked towards his house from the training fields. He had just come back from a meeting with his sensei, Kurenai, as well as Hinata and was surprised to see Sakura there and learn that she would be getting some genjutsu training from Kurenai during the month as a favor to Kakashi. Meanwhile Kurenai would help Kiba and Hinata like always while also having them spar against Sakura so that the pink haired girl would be ready for her match in the exams. The exams, which brought up a small bit of frustration to the young heir since he had been knocked out of them by a taijutsu focused genin in just a few minutes.

On top of Kiba's head Akamaru let out a bark of agreement before a smell hit the pups' nose making him look over to the side. The dog quickly started barking for Kiba to notice, making him stop and look to where his ninken was directing him and see that Naruto was apparently on the clan compound and having a small chat with his sister. "What d'ya think he's here for Akamaru?" The dog gave a small whine of confusion his self so Kiba shrugged and changed his direction to go and see them. As he got closer his sensitive ears picked up on their words, which just got clearer as he neared them.

"Yeah that's what I figured. I mean otouto is good but against one of Gai's kids in pure taijutsu? I have faith in Kiba but I know when he's outmatched. Even I'd have trouble there if I couldn't pull of some of the clan ninjutsu quick enough."

"He held up pretty well though all things considered, Hana-san. It was really just a bad match up for him, but I wouldn't hold it against him."

"We're not, Kaa-san even said that we'll just train him a bit harder and he can go ask for a rematch some other time."

"Which I plan on doing soon cause I'm not going to lose again." Kiba chimed in as he got close enough. Naruto and Hana turned to face him, his sister with a slight smile that he was used to from her while Naruto's face was mostly blank. His eyes just showed a slight sadness that Kiba didn't know the cause of. In fact, the young heir was still unsure of what to do around Naruto. The first time they met Kiba had threatened him over a misunderstanding that backfired into Naruto threatening and embarrassing him. On the other hand he saved his teammate Hinata from the Suna ninja when he was sure she was about to be killed. Just how do you act around someone when those were the only two times you interacted before? "So… uh, what are you here for?" Kiba asked. Naruto stared for a moment before answering.

"I stop by on the first Saturday of every month unless I'm out on a mission. Hana-san just happened to stop me for a quick chat. Now if you two will excuse me." With a small nod to each of them, Naruto turned and started walking off towards another area of the compound. Hana sighed but gestured for Kiba to follow her so he did after one last glance at the blond.

"He really needs to open back up some more."

"How do you know him nee-san?" Kiba asked, hoping to find out more about him. Hana glanced at her brother before shrugging, as she found no harm in answering the question.

"Remember our cousin Koji? The one who died a couple years ago? The one you'd always be playing with when neither of you were busy with training and stuff?" Kiba nodded so Hana continued. "Naruto was a part of Koji's genin team. Like you, Naruto looked up to Koji like an older brother. You know the Kiba no Makai was a battle gauntlet created by Koji's father to use in conjunction with our clan's taijutsu style. Later, Daichi-san gave it to Koji when he progress far enough in his training. As a birthday gift and a way to help his teammate, Koji gave it to Naruto when he mastered its use." Kiba nodded again as he understood everything so far and could guess a bit at how Naruto knew his sister. "And then Koji went and took a fatal attack to save Naruto's life."

"That sounds like Koji alright." Kiba muttered. Hana nodded in agreement before continuing.

"Yeah. Then their other teammate did the same thing not even an hour later from some more enemies. Naruto changed after that. I only met him a few times before it all but he used to be all smiles and jokes, always looking on the bright side of things and never letting anything get him down. Then Koji and their other teammate sacrificed their lives for him and now… well things have just never been the same since. He threw himself into training to be strong enough so that nobody ever has to sacrifice themselves for his sake again."

"Sounds rough." Kiba muttered, Akamaru whining in agreement. It also explained both how he knew Akamaru's name in the exam room and how he knew his sister. He had met Hana before and Koji likely told him about his ninken. Then something struck Kiba and he groaned. "Ugh… I'm gonna have to apologize to him later."

"Why?"

"I uh, sorta snapped at him and called him a thief in the exam room when I saw the Kiba no Makai." The boy shamefully admitted. His sister sighed but nodded her agreement and told him to wait until he came back. "So uh, what's he here for anyways? He said he stops by every month." Hana looked down as they entered into their house, stopping for a second at the door.

"He picks up Koji's ninken so they can go visit their graves."

* * *

><p>"Hello Lyla-san." Naruto greeted with a small smile as the door opened. Standing before him was a woman with light brown hair and clear green eyes. She took barely less than a second to identify Naruto before smiling gently and embracing the boy in a hug.<p>

"Naruto-kun, it's good to see you again."

"You too. Is Daichi-san home?" He replied as they separated. She shook her head as she led him into the house. He stopped and took a seat in the living room as she went into the kitchen to get some tea.

"He's on a mission right now. Hime's with him, like always. So how've you been Naruto-kun?" She asked from the next room.

"I'm in the finals of the Chunin Exams. They start in a little less than a month."

"I see." Was her quiet reply. She shared Naruto's dislike of the exams due to what had happened. "Did anything…"

"No. I'm fine, as are my new teammates. We weren't singled out for any reason this time so we handled it easily." Naruto knew what she was wondering so he let her know. She also knew what he meant by 'singled out' as he had told her and Daichi everything of the exams, including the heritage he learned about afterwards. Koji's parents simply told him they didn't blame him and were happy he knew his parents' identities. They hadn't treated him any differently from before their son died. It was something he both loved and hated about them.

He loved that they didn't care or treat him any different for finding out he was the child of the greatest Hokage since the Shodai. They were just happy that he knew and glad he found them trustworthy enough to confide that S-rank secret in them. Yet on the other hand he blamed himself for Koji and Sakuya dying and the fact that Koji's own parents were continually telling him it wasn't his fault, made him feel horrible since in his mind it _was his _fault. Period.

"That's good to hear." Lyla came back into the room with two cups of tea, one of which she handed to Naruto before sitting down next to him. "I'd hate for anything to happen to you too."

"Both of my teammates made it to the finals with me. Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. They're alright and we get along but… Things just aren't the same." Lyla set her tea down before wrapping an arm around the boy she considered a second son.

"They won't be and you can't expect them to Naruto-kun. I know you miss Koji-kun and Sakuya-chan, I do too, but things will never go back to how they were. It's just not possible." Naruto let himself sit in the hug for a few minutes before pulling away. He still had things to do today.

"Is Kairi here?"

"She should be out back right now, like always."

* * *

><p>Stepping through the back door led Naruto into a wide open area with a large dirt circle used for training as well as a large tree. Looking at the circle brought back a few fond memories of sparring with Koji and his dad, sometimes teamed two-on-one. The elder Inuzuka would always be willing to help Naruto out with a bit of training if he happened to stop by while Koji was sparring with him. While the two had never actually beat Daichi, it was the fun and skills that Naruto would cherish.<p>

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Naruto turned to look in the shade provided by the tree to find what he was looking for. Sleeping in the shade was a large brown dog with black ears. However it was also painfully obvious the dog had gone through something painful. A missing right foreleg would show that. Walking up to the ninken, Naruto crouched down and scratched a spot behind one of the ears. A few seconds caused the canine to wake up and glance at the blond before letting out a small but happy sounding bark. "Hey Kairi. You doin' okay?" Naruto asked with a slight smile. Kairi and Kakashi were the only ties left to his old team and they knew him better than anybody else.

The dog nodded and nuzzled her head into Naruto's hand. "You feel up to the regular trip Kairi?" In response the dog slowly stood up as best as she could without a leg. "Alright then. Let's go."

* * *

><p>She just had to take it easy for a week. Light training would be fine but anything more could aggravate the wounds the Suna ninja had inflicted on her. Hinata sighed but thanked the doctor before walking out of the room. Standing at the door waiting with a slight scowl was Neji and for once, Hinata knew the scowl wasn't related to her or his Main branch hatred at all. What Naruto had said to him before and during their fight had gotten him thinking. While he had put it away for later during the match, once he was healed and woke up he searched for the answers and found out the blond had spoken nothing but the truth. In fact, something he had apparently forgotten to mention was that geniuses could fail as well since Kakashi was well reported for his above elite skill and yet something had happened that made him blame himself. Neji was forced to see that his entire life view about fate was entirely wrong and he was struggling to come to terms with it. Hinata was sure the only reason he wasn't locked away in a training room or the library was because he was tasked to ensure her safety so he had to follow her around. "Ah… I'm finished N-Neji-nii-san." The shy heiress stuttered out. Neji's eyes snapped up and a small flicker of hate passed through them towards her before he sighed and nodded before following as she started to leave the hospital.<p>

It was on the way home to the Hyuuga compound though that they stopped as both noticed something. The source of both their confusion was walking down the main street accompanied by a crippled dog. They stopped for a second before he happened to raise his head and notice them staring and started walking over. "Hey. Did you two need something?" The simple question seemed to snap both of the Hyuuga's back into action easily enough.

"Uh… Not, not really Naruto-san." Neji muttered before looking towards the dog. He recognized it easily as the ninken to the blonde's old teammate. Hinata on the other hand stared at Naruto for a second longer before shyly looking down.

"Um well… y-you said we could t-talk later after you saved me from that S-Suna ninja. Would n-now be alright? I mean, I-I don't want to b-bother you if you're busy." She asked. Naruto looked down to Kairi for a second before nodding.

"It's fine, I was just walking Kairi back home. Would it be alright if we stopped there first?" Hinata nodded as did Neji, though he was only mildly paying attention to what was being said. With only a slight adjustment to their intended paths, the two Hyuuga's began walking alongside Naruto and Kairi.

"S-so is this y-your dog?" Hinata asked after a few minutes. Naruto shook his head.

"No. This is Kairi and she was Koji's ninken."

"Oh, I'm s-sorry. I didn't m-mean to bring up a-any bad memories." Naruto shook his head again.

"It's alright. You didn't know." Naruto then noticed how Neji seemed lost in thought. "Are you alright Neji? Something seems to be bothering you." The older boy glanced at Naruto before sighing and deciding to explain.

"I'm just thinking Naruto-san. On what you said during our match. I never knew those things about Jiraiya-sama or your teacher Kakashi and they completely shatter everything I've ever believed in, the very beliefs I've lived by since I was a child. It's just… hard trying to figure out what to do now." Both Hinata and Naruto were silent as they stared at him before Naruto glanced at Hinata and nodded his head.

"I see. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to throw your whole world out of whack. I just wanted to show you that you were wrong about that. But as for where to go from here, why not just focus yourself towards protecting your family? Your friends? I know that despite the frigid attitude, Tenten and Lee both view you as a good friend and would do whatever they could to help you."

"As a Branch member of the Hyuuga it's already my duty to protect the Main house, like Hinata_-sama_ here." Neji spat out at the mention of family. Hinata flinched at the hate in the voice while Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Is there some kind of problem between you two?"

"I-it's not something for y-you to worry about N-Naruto-san." Hinata stammered out while Neji scoffed at Naruto's question.

"It's nothing that concerns you Naruto-san. Just something the Branch House has suffered for since the inception of the Hyuuga clan."

"Try me. Family shouldn't ever refer to another like you just did." Naruto countered, dead set on learning just what could make someone speak with such hate about someone of their own blood. Hinata looked down as Neji stared at Naruto for a moment before answering.

"Do you know anything about the difference between the Main and Branch houses of the Hyuuga clan?"

"Just that the Branch has more numbers and is in charge of safe-guarding and serving the Main. Though I don't understand the latter very well. After all, why would you be born just to serve other family members when family should look out for one another?" Neji nodded his agreement with Naruto's assessment so he explained.

"The Branch family are as we are due to a seal placed on our foreheads at a young age. This seal will completely erase all portions of the Byakugan from our bodies upon our death. There's also a special variant given to those who marry outside the clan to prevent the Byakugan from leaving the Hyuuga. This was originally done so that more members of our clan could serve as shinobi without risking our bloodline falling into enemy hands. However, it also has another feature. With a single hand-seal from the Main house, they can cause extreme pain and even death to anyone with the seal placed upon them. Again, this was in the original design so that if a Branch member was kidnapped or captured, they could be remotely executed to prevent our secrets from getting out. However things didn't stay as intended. Over time, the Main house began to feel that since they could hold pain and death over the Branch house, the Branch members should serve the Main. And for the generations since, the Branch house has changed from mostly proud warriors of the clan, to indentured servants forced to obey the Main. Not only that but the Branch house is kept weaker than the Main by restricting certain Hyuuga clan ninjutsu from them. The Kaiten and other jutsu I used on you in our match are two such jutsu. I learned them through observation and experimentation, but not once were they ever even hinted at in my fighting lessons within the clan since I am from the Branch house." Neji explained. Hinata had kept sinking into her jacket as Neji spoke of their clans' troubled and horrid ways while Naruto was silent as he contemplated a response.

"I can see why you'd be against your own family then. And against any of the Main house members who have wronged you I'd even say you're justified. However has Hinata ever done anything to you?" Naruto asked while Neji grunted.

"She's never activated the seal on any Branch member to my knowledge, however I despise her and her weakness for another reason."

"If this is cause she lost to Gaara, then I should tell you even you wouldn't be able to beat him. That guy's not someone Jyuuken could bring down."

"It's not about her failure in the preliminaries. Rather it's due to her my father died." Hinata flinched again as Naruto glanced at her before turning back to Neji.

"How? If she's never done anything to a Branch member then how is she responsible for your father's death?"

"Did you know that almost a decade ago when I was only four and you around three, Kumo and Konoha were at war?" Naruto nodded so Neji kept going. "Tired of the violence, Kumo called a truce and asked to make an alliance treaty so that our villages could have peace between one another. A small group of Kumo shinobi came to Konoha to make and sign this treaty. However one night, Hinata-sama was kidnapped from her room. Her father, the clan head Hiashi, chased after the kidnapper and killed him to save his daughter. However could you guess who the kidnapper was?"

"One of the Kumo ninja." Was Naruto's answer. And a correct one at that as Neji nodded.

"That's right, but not just any of the ninja. The leader of their group, personally chosen by the Raikage to oversee the treaty signing. However with this act it was clear the treaty had been nothing but a rouse, Kumo was after the Byakugan from the beginning. When Kumo discovered their ninja had been killed, they had the audacity to declare that Konoha was in the wrong for breaking the treaty. They wanted the body of his killer handed over to them or they go right back to war. Things began to escalate but then at the last possible moment, Konoha gave in. Or at least appeared to. My father, Hizashi, was the twin of Hiashi-sama and was of the Branch house. So to prevent war and give Kumo the body they demanded, my father was slain and handed over in Hiashi-sama's place. Since he had the seal, all traces of his Byakugan were eliminated. Kumo raged over the trickery but did nothing since they knew Konoha was technically in the right after all. We tricked them, just as they tricked us. But had Hinata-sama not been so weak, my father would never have had to die!" Neji finished hatefully. Said girl was looking at the ground ashamed while Naruto leveled a hard stare at Neji. After a few seconds Naruto spoke.

"You're an idiot."

"What was that?"

"How old was Hinata at the time?" Naruto asked as Neji glared at him for seemingly mocking him.

"She had just turned three when the Kumo delegation arrived."

"Okay. Did she have any training at that age?"

"She would have just started the bare basics." Neji answered, not knowing where Naruto was going with this. The blond nodded as even Hinata looked up confused.

"Okay, so she had very little skill, likely none at all. And yet, you want to blame her for being too weak to fight off someone who had to be an experienced jonin? I'll repeat, you're an idiot." Neji was stunned silent at Naruto's declaration as he continued. "At three years old, there's no way in hell she could've fought off her kidnapper. Hell, at three years old, even the Yondaime Hokage would've been nothing more than a wimp that would lose to a rookie genin. Your father was killed and for that you have my condolences. However you're blaming someone who was just as much a victim as he was. You want to hate someone then hate Kumo. Hate the Main house people who ordered your father's death. Hate the Main house people who torture you Branch members with that seal even. But don't hate the innocent. That's just stupid." Naruto finished as Neji and Hinata looked at him in similar stunned silence.

Neji was shocked at first that Naruto was seemingly mocking him and his suffering. But then that changed to realization as what Naruto said made perfect logical sense. He just had never seen it before due to his Main house hatred and belief that fate controlled everything. However looking at things now with them pointed out to him in such a way showed him how petty his arguments must have seemed to everyone else. He truly was blaming a victim for a crime they never committed. Hinata played a part in his fathers' death, of that there was no doubt. However it wasn't her fault, she just happened to be the victim that triggered the mess that killed him. She wasn't to blame, and now he could see that.

Hinata on the other hand was silent for a different reason. Not because Naruto had just put down her cousin's hate of her, or even that he told him it was okay to hate family. But rather she was silent because he was standing up for her, someone he barely even knew. While Hinata claimed she knew him, he obviously couldn't claim the same. And yet he was standing up for her, for a problem she had been dealing with since her childhood. And this was actually the second time as he had stood up for her, and even saved her from Gaara just yesterday in the preliminaries. Looking at him now brought a small blush to her face so she quickly looked towards the ground as Naruto remained staring at Neji while the boy thought over everything that was being told.

"I… I need some time… to think about all of this." The older genin stammered out so Naruto nodded as they came up on the Inuzuka compound.

"That's fine." The two stopped at the gates as Naruto walked right through with Kairi limping beside him. "Just wait here, I'll be back in a second."

* * *

><p>"Thank you Kyoko-san." Hinata and Naruto were now sitting in a room at the Hyuuga compound as a Branch member brought them tea. When Naruto had rejoined the two after dropping off Kairi they had headed straight for the Hyuuga compound since Hinata wanted to talk to the blond and he didn't have any plans for the day anyways. Upon arrival, Neji excused himself to think over everything that had been told to him in the recent time while Hinata brought Naruto to an empty room and requested some tea for the two of them. The Branch member gave Hinata a small smile as she set the tea down before leaving the room while Naruto nodded his thanks.<p>

"So what is it you wanted to talk about? If it's thanking me for saving you from Gaara then don't. I explained then that I was doing what was right."

"N-no, but thank y-you again for that." Hinata stuttered as Naruto took a sip of his tea. "I-I was wanting t-to make sure you're the b-boy I remember from the Academy." Naruto raised an eyebrow as he set his tea down.

"I may have only been at the Academy for two years but I'm sorry to say I don't remember any Hyuuga in the class I was in." He stated before looking off to the side. "Then again I don't remember much of my Academy days since the after were so much better." He muttered under his breath. Hinata nodded before trying to prove or disprove her theory.

"D-did you used to wear an o-orange jumpsuit while pr-proclaiming you would be H-Hokage?" Naruto raised his eyebrow again but nodded. "A-and your sensei… was he Umino Iruka?" Naruto narrowed his eyes but nodded again. "Th-then we were in c-class together, if only f-for a little while. I-I remember you b-because you always s-smiled and never gave up, ev-even when everybody w-would mock you or in-insult you." Naruto closed his eyes as he thought back to his days at the Academy, knowing they were just as Hinata had said. In fact, that was the very reason he had tried taking the exams as early as he could. He was tired of the ridicule and hoped that by passing early and becoming a genin before the others, they would stop mocking him and respect him. "Y-you likely d-don't remember me be-because I was so shy a-and would keep t-to myself in class."

"You're right I don't… no wait, I think I do. Not much but just a girl in class with dark blue hair that was always poking her fingers together." Hinata nodded as she even brought up her fingers and poked them together as she used too, and still did at times though he didn't know it. "Yeah like that. Huh, I guess that means technically I'm back with my old classmates now doesn't it?" He asked rhetorically with a small smile. Hinata gave one as well before taking a sip of her tea. "But uh, why did you want to know? I mean, just knowing I'm an old classmate doesn't really change much."

"W-well I wanted to th-thank you for all y-you've done for me."

"But other than Gaara and I guess this little thing with Neji, I haven't done anything at all." Naruto asked, genuinely confused. Hinata though shook her head.

"N-no, you've… you've done a l-lot for me. I'm n-not well liked by m-most of the Main house b-because I'm not very strong a-and because I'm against th-the seal our clan uses. S-so they're really hard on me f-for my training and p-progress. B-but I struggle to k-keep up to their standards a-and fail to do so at times. But then I-I'd see you in class, taking e-every failure with a smile a-and always getting up to keep trying. It… it inspired m-me to try harder myself. I-I mean, you h-had nothing and y-you never let that bother you. And I h-had everything c-compared to you, but I w-would sulk and get depressed o-over what they'd say t-to me. I-it just didn't seem f-fair that I-I could do so wh-when s-someone like you refused to. S-so I looked up t-to you as inspiration to get s-stronger." Hinata admitted as she looked off to the side, not seeing the stunned face Naruto was staring at her with.

'_She admired me? Okay, I mean I get some respect for my skills and a few who admire my Futon mastery or Katon skill. Even a couple that admire my taijutsu and weapon skills. But me? Nobody's ever said they admire_ me_.'_ Naruto thought as Hinata continued staring off to the side, with a slight blush he noticed. Again he noticed that the shy girl in front of him was quite beautiful. With a slight blush Naruto coughed into his hand and turned to the side. "Well… um, I uh, I honestly don't know how to respond to that." He scratched one of his cheeks with a finger, the motions of dragging the nail over his whisker birthmarks always having a calming effect on him. "Uh… thanks, I guess." Hinata nodded her head as he took a second to take a drink of his tea.

"Uh… D-did you know y-your teammate Sakura is g-going to be training w-with my sensei during the m-month?" Hinata asked, trying to shift the conversation to another topic to break the silence her admission had brought. Naruto's head perked up for a moment before he slowly nodded.

"Uh… no actually. I remember sensei saying he'd try to call in a favor for her and uh, telling her to stop by my place for some help if he couldn't." Naruto admitted, silently glad to have a topic change. "So who's your sensei?"

"Yuhi Kurenai. She's r-really good at genjutsu e-even though she only b-became a jonin a few weeks b-before getting a team."

"Huh, makes sense then that she'd be the one sensei would ask to help Sakura." Naruto mused. Hinata nodded before asking a question.

"What a-about you? Is Kakashi-sensei g-going to be training you d-during the month?"

"Nope, I'll be training with my godfather while he works with Sasuke on Sharingan stuff and the ins and outs of that Goken his opponent uses." Naruto admitted. He then began to talk with her about some of his training as she shared her own stories. While the conversation had switched off to other topics, getting further and further from Hinata's admission of admiration, it still remained in their minds.

* * *

><p>~Next Day~<p>

"Alright gaki. I managed to get some info on this Sabaku no Gaara kid you're fightin' in the finals." Jiraiya started as Naruto came into the training ground the next morning. Naruto nodded and adjusted the gauntlet on his left as Jiraiya continued. "You're right in that he's the Ichibi jinchuriki so watch out for any possible demonic chakra. You know how to write up suppression seals so I'd slip a few into your supply pouch as a just-in-case measure. Also, that sand you mentioned. It may rely on his chakra to work but for the most part is apparently completely automatic. There are documented cases of kunai and other attacks coming at him from out of nowhere and his sand reacted on its own to save him. He does however have to order it to go on the offensive, though he can do that mostly with mental commands making it look like the sand is alive and acting on its own. He does need hand seals for the big guns though so if he starts them then there's your warning." The blond nodded as he took the information in. An automatic defense that responded to mental commands for offensive maneuvers while hand signs were only used for the better lot of his jutsu. It fit perfectly with what he saw in the preliminaries where he never even twitched while his sand had pummeled the Hyuuga heiress on its own. "There's one other thing Naruto." The younger male looked up at the somber tone Jiraiya' voice had taken.

"What is it? If it's how he's the Kazekage's son then I know already and won't kill him." Jiraiya shook his head.

"That's not it but good call. Wouldn't want to strain relationships by having Konoha's jinchuriki kill Suna's. No it's about the kids' life." Naruto narrowed his eyes as Jiraiya closed his and continued. "This kid has had it bad, like you. The village pretty much hates him, his father has deemed him a failure as a weapon of Suna and has tried to have him killed and since his jinchuriki status isn't hidden from the populace like yours is, his own generation is terrified of him. He's even lost control a couple times and let the biju loose in the village apparently. I don't know how the kid is but he must be pretty messed up if that's how he's lived."

"_What the hell is your problem? She surrendered you ass!"_

"_What does it matter to me? I have not won until all threats to my existence are dead."_

"_I thought you were like me as we are both jinchuriki but I was wrong. You are weak because you fight for others. I look forward to offering your blood to mother."_

"He… he thinks he has to kill everyone, that you have to fight for yourself alone. It's like he believes the world is out to get him." Naruto realized as he thought back on how Gaara had acted in the few times they interacted. "Plus I don't think his seal is entirely stable. He mentioned offering blood to mother, as if the sand itself was his mother. I'd bet the biju has twisted his mind somewhat in addition to the stuff you said." Jiraiya nodded.

"That's very likely. Suna doesn't have many seal masters and the few they do are nowhere near expert level. The seal may be botched to some extent. But I can't fix it up unless I get permission from Suna and I doubt they're going to just let someone from another village tamper with their 'secret weapon'." Jiraiya admitted before Naruto shook his head.

"No they won't." He then put the thoughts out of his mind as he got focused on what they were there for. "But I guess that doesn't really change the fact that I'm facing him in the finals. We need to figure out a way for me to get passed the sand. We can try to fix him later if we get the chance. The first thing is to get me a victory."

"Well I've actually had a few ideas about that gaki." Jiraiya started as he and Naruto began talking strategy before moving on to spars and jutsu practice.

* * *

><p><strong>Omake –<strong> Fox and Snake 2

"So, you're the brat everyone can't stop talkin' 'bout huh? Well you don't look like much." Anko started as she sat down near Kakashi and Naruto at Ichiraku's. This was where Kakashi had said to meet the kid before he would head out on the pretense of some business and she would try to get him to open up. Naruto stared blankly at her as she sat down. On his left forearm was Koji's gauntlet, that he was given as a birthday gift. Attached to his back by a simple black strap was Sakuya's duel naginata. Naruto's headband was now fastened to his head by a black cloth rather than a dark blue, just as his kunai pouch was now the same color. He had on a simple dark blue t-shirt with a red swirl on the back while his pants were black. Ayame scowled at the woman for the comment as Naruto turned back to his food and ate at a subdued pace. "Name's Mitarashi Anko gaki."

"What do you want?" The blond spat out after finishing his bowl. Anko raised a slight eyebrow at the cold yet angered tone before ordering a bowl of ramen for herself.

"What? A lady can't introduce herself to someone and have a bite to eat?" Naruto scoffed but turned back to the next bowl Ayame had placed out for him. Just because he was eating slower then usual didn't change the amount he ate. "Besides, despite my gorgeous looks or your shitty attitude, the two of us have something in common." Naruto scoffed so she shrugged. "Hey, I know it my sound impossible but I know what its like to have the village hate you kid." Naruto locked a glare on her instantly, actually surprising Anko by the amount of hate in his eyes.

"Bullshit."

"Tell me gaki, you ever hear of Orochimaru?"

"Konoha's greatest traitor since Uchiha Madara."

"You're looking at his old abandoned apprentice." Naruto narrowed his eyes as Anko reached for her ramen. "Just like people hate you for the sins of your tenant, I'm hated for what Orochimaru did. Even though both of us are completely innocent of their crimes in every way shape or form, we're still hated by a good portion of the village for something beyond our control. Honestly, the only difference is that I was strong enough to defend myself against most of my aggressors when I became hated." She explained. Naruto's eyes softened slightly as he looked back to his food.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault and you didn't know so you obviously would react with a bit of skepticism." Anko sat quietly with the boy for a bit as she ate trying to figure out how to go about making him give up on his suicidal plan to kill all of Iwa when the boy spoke up.

"Uh… Mitarashi-san? Would you be able to help me train for a bit? I'm having a bit of trouble with a jutsu and sensei's already helped all he could." Naruto asked. Anko looked at him before giving a small smile. Hey, Kakashi didn't ask her to do it all at once. And maybe giving the kid a friend would help in the long run anyways. It wasn't like she didn't reach out to others after all.


	17. 17

So sorry this took so long everybody! But now I have a laptop and can type a lot more! In celebration I went and put out more chapters to my other stories as well as putting out a couple more stories as well. So please go check those out when you get the chance. Anyways, onto reviews.

**Hinatasgreatestfan:** They already are. Each omake has been about something from before the story started. How Naruto graduated early, how he met his team, even a couple moments with them. This small set of omakes with Anko is also explaining something, namely how they met and why Naruto currently hates the woman.

**Minutsu: **The last in my Fox and Snake omakes will fully explain everything, but I'll say it now for those who couldn't guess it; you're right.

**Judeu: **What do you mean made his teammates too strong? And I know Sasuke was a prodigy. He still is in this story. It's just comparing him to canon Naruto makes him seem really strong while against my experienced Naruto does the opposite. My Sasuke is actually a little stronger than his canon counterpart at this point in the story as well. And what makes you think Naruto would despise Hinata in this story? He didn't like Sakura at first because she was a fan girl but Hinata never was. Hinata also never did anything to Naruto or his old or current team so he has no reason to be against her.

**Dragon Man 180: **Why would Naruto get Anko to train Hinata? He hates Anko so why would he want anything to do with her? Plus I have other plans for Hinata anyways.

**DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles: **Your concerns are well founded as Hinata is a seemingly opposite to Sakuya so what would draw Naruto to her? And you also commented on what Hinata could eventually become as his 'light in the dark'. While Hinata is falling for him now, Naruto currently just thinks she's beautiful and is both honored and slightly embarrassed at how highly she holds him. He will eventually fall for her, but that's kinda far off.

And now to the chapter.

**17 - **Let the Sparks Fly

The month passed by quickly as the entrants trained for their matches and the village prepared for the event. All around news was buzzing about two matches in particular; Sasuke's and Naruto's. Everyone had heard about the mighty Uchiha clan. Just as everyone had heard about their demise at the hands of their own prodigy. But now the sole survivor of that massacre was a genin. And not only that but was in the finals of the Chunin Exams after only six months of training and experience. The boy's skills must be superb and as such many lords and daimyos wanted to see the new scion of the clan in action.

Naruto's match was garnering just as much attention for a couple reasons. For those who knew the blonde's status as a jinchuriki, they knew it was a match against one of his supposed kin. Demon container versus demon container; in a free for all battle for all to see. And for those who didn't know the boy's status, they still knew the story of his massacre in the last exams he had been in. He had slaughtered so many after losing his teammates and had been placed in the Bingo Books as a genin and a child. His skills had also exploded after the dark event and now he was considered Konoha's greatest genin. Yet now his opponent was the jinchuriki to the Ichibi and youngest son of the Yondaime Kazekage.

The stands were packed as people still filed in for seats to witness the new up and coming genin of the villages. Ino growled in annoyance as she couldn't see one before noticing Choji waving her down from his seat with a pile of snack foods next to him. As she got close he pulled the bags out of the chair and gave her grin that she returned. "Hey Ino, saved you a seat."

"Thanks Choji." She replied as she sat down and looked around at the people filling the area around them. "So, how do you think the matches are going to go?" She asked while grabbing a bag of low fat chips from the pile he had.

"Well, the Sasuke and Lee match will be close. I mean, that Lee kid is just a monster up close from what I saw." Choji started as he swallowed some food. "Then again Sasuke has that huge sword and his jutsu so I think he can hold out."

"Sasuke-kun is going to win that mach without a doubt!" Ino cheered as Choji just shrugged. He wanted his classmate to win as well; he had just given his honest opinion in that he thought it would be close.

"Then is that Kankuro guy versus Shino. Shino has his bugs which could drain him but that guy uses poison and puppets so I don't know how that match will go." Choji commented and Ino shivered.

"Clan jutsu or not, those bugs are creepy!"

"Then it's Shikamaru versus that wind chick. I really want him to win but I'm pretty sure he's going to forfeit." Choji admitted as he tossed a couple chips in his mouth. Ino growled as she flipped her hair back over her shoulder.

"He damn well better NOT surrender! Shika is the only one of us three to make it to the finals and I will beat the shit out of him if he embarrasses us like that!" Ino shouted getting Choji to chuckle nervously before moving onto the next match.

"Well, then it's Sakura versus that sound guy I lost to."

"Oh right, you did. You know I actually talked to Sakura during the month and she mentioned that she fought him in the woods too before Sasuke and that Naruto guy scared the team off somehow." Ino admitted. Sakura had told her only the bare basics in that they had fought the sound team, but never any full details. Yet she hadn't lied either. Sasuke scared the sound team off by telling them Naruto drove off their leader; it technically counted as both scaring them off. "I wonder how forehead's gonna do without her teammates there to help her against him now."

"You're not still angry she beat you, are you?"

"Well, a little I guess. But I'm still going to cheer her on here. We're rivals of course but were still friends. Kinda…" Choji shrugged in response.

"Well she uses genjutsu and that guy uses sound to make you all dizzy and confused and stuff so it should be close." Ino nodded her agreement before bringing up the last match.

"And then comes that Naruto guy against that crazy red head."

"Gaara." Choji clarified with a nod. "I have no idea who's going to win that. I mean, just how do you get past that sand Gaara uses to hit him? But then again, Naruto never used any jutsu and that Kabuto guys' card said he has fire and wind under his belt."

"Oh yeah it did." Ino remembered before narrowing her eyes. "It also said he was a jinchuriki and then Naruto said Gaara was too. I asked my dad but he said that he couldn't tell me what a jinchuriki was. It's classified for chunin or higher unless the Hokage or Naruto himself explain it." Ino explained and Choji nodded as his own father had said something similar. "What's so important about whatever that is that we can't even be told? I mean, it's like it's some kind of military secret or something that could hurt us all if it's talked about."

"Yeah…" Choji muttered before remembering something else. "Didn't that card also say he was in the Bingo Book as a B-rank ninja for killing a lot of people in the last exams he was in? Maybe jinchuriki is a special kind of insane?" Choji asked, slightly scared of the boy knowing he had apparently massacred a group of people. The only reason he was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt is because he saved Hinata in the preliminaries. Ino shook her head though.

"I asked that myself since my dad is a psychiatrist and he said no. He actually sees Naruto every couple months because of what happened. The whole reason he killed all those people was because they first killed his old team. Remember what he said to Neji in the preliminaries? He looked up to one teammate like a brother and actually loved the other. Daddy told me that when those two died, Naruto snapped and wanted revenge so he slaughtered everyone associated with Iwa he came across." Ino explained before shivering. "It was something really scary apparently. Daddy's even gone into his mind and says that it was barely held together after that. He only recently started showing improvement."

"Then wouldn't he be taken off the Shinobi force if he was unstable?" Choji asked and she shook her head no.

"He wasn't that unstable… or at least, not in the way you're thinking of." She started. "He could sill perform his duties and missions without a problem. It's just that if you were from Iwa or if you said anything bad about his teammates he'd snap and try to kill them right there, damn everything else around him. He was even a flight risk for a while since he wants to destroy the entire village of Iwagakure for what a few genin did, even though he's already killed those genin." Ino finished. "Daddy says he's really had it hard and he's only just started improving because he wasn't isolating himself anymore thanks to Sasuke-kun and Sakura. I don't know if they know all this but those two pretty much saved him from himself apparently. He's still a hothead with no patience for a couple things but he's a lot more open and friendly than before." Choji looked at her before looking down at the arena, taking all the information in.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto sighed as he waited down below in the arena with a jonin and the other genin contestants. The arena was a large open area with a few trees littering one side of the wall but nothing else throughout the entire field. The blond squinted as he raised his eyes and saw the crowd, most staring right down at him. With a sigh he adjusted the straps on his gauntlet out of habit while looking over the other genin. All the genin are there waiting for the event to start as well. And all of them, other than Sasuke and Sakura looked exactly the same. His teammates however, were slightly different than he remembers.

Sasuke is still wearing the same short-sleeved blue shirt he always was but was now wearing black Shinobi pants that were bandaged around his ankles. He also ditched the arm warmers, instead wearing black gloves with metal plates on the back and spikes over the knuckles. Held to his back by his chakra, much like its previous owner, is the Kubikiribocho. The massive blade was shining in the sun, almost as if it was ready and wanting to spill blood again.

Sakura had also changed her outfit in that she no longer wore her red and white one piece but instead had on a red kimono top that still had her signature white circle on the back. Over her legs was a short white skirt while under that were dark blue biker shorts. Strapped to her shins were red guards similar to the kind Anbu wore. Also around her right wrist was an arm warmer that was white with pink petals going across it. And finally she had all her pink hair tied back into a ponytail with a red ribbon as she had her headband on her forehead as it was originally meant for.

'_They look better. More professional.' _Naruto mused in his head before looking to the jonin. It was not the same sickly man they had for the preliminaries but rather a man wearing his bandanna style headband backwards and chewing on a senbon needle in his mouth. _'That's not the same guy from before, but they wouldn't change unless something happened to the original proctor.' _Naruto thought before shaking his head and sighing. Those weren't problems he needed to focus on currently. Rather the problem that demanded his focus was standing to his left and keeping quiet with his eyes closed. Gaara didn't look any different than before and that could be a good or a bad thing depending on how you looked at it.

'_Well, I guess I'll find out in our fight.'_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Greetings Kazekage-dono." Sarutobi welcomed as a man in white robes similar to his own walked in. The only difference really was that his had blue while the Hokage's had red. He also had a small cloth covering his face from view, leaving only his eyes visible.

"Hello to you as well Hokage-dono." The man replied as he sat in the chair next to him while his two guards took up positions at his shoulders much like the Hokage had his own. The man glanced down at the genin below them before chuckling. "Well, it looks like we can begin at any time." Sarutobi nodded as he took a drag from the tobacco filled pipe in his mouth. "You know, I believe it was probably for the best that the Exams were in Konoha this time. I wonder if you would've been able to make the trip to another village in your age Hokage-dono."

"Heh, I'm still well enough to travel and lead Kazekage-dono. Please, don't write me off in my old age just yet." Hiruzen chuckled back before standing. "But now that you and many of the daimyos and lords are here, I believe we can begin." He stated while walking up to the railing. "Welcome!" He called out getting everyone's attention. "Welcome one and all to the bi-annual Chunin Selection Exams! I thank you for coming and hope you will enjoy watching as these ten genin showcase their skills and reasons as to just why they are ready to receive promotion. Please, enjoy yourselves and stay till the very end. I pronounce the Finals of the Chunin Exams officially begun!" He called out getting everyone to start cheering as he retook his seat and the crowd turned to the people below.

"Alright, I'm Shirunai Genma, your proctor for the Final Exam." The jonin started. "Before we start I'm gonna go over the rules with you all again one more time. That is, there are none. Just fight until one of you is unconscious or dead. However if I deem a match over than I will step in and say so." The genin nodded so Genma jerked his head to the side. "Alright then, everyone other than Uchiha Sasuke and Rock Lee is to leave the field for the waiting area."

"Good luck Sasuke." Naruto patted his teammate on the shoulder as he walked past with a slight grin.

"Yeah, good luck Sasuke-kun." Sakura added before following Naruto and the others up to the designated area. The young Uchiha just smirked and faced Lee, who was positively beaming.

"What's with you?" He asked, wondering why the spandex clad genin was smiling like that. It was starting to creep him out honestly.

"I am just so happy to be able to face you!" He shouted in reply as he got into a ready stance, his right hand held out in front of him with his left held behind his back. "After Naruto's youthful display and speech to Neji in the preliminaries, I too am eager to show just how far hard work has taken a designated failure such as me. I cannot utilize any ninjutsu or genjutsu however that will not stop me from achieving my goal to be a splendid ninja! And that is why I am glad to be facing someone from the esteemed Uchiha clan for it means my skills will receive the ultimate test." Sasuke grunted before grabbing the Kubikiri with one hand and holding it out.

"Well then, I'll just have to oblige you won't I?"

"Uchiha Sasuke versus Rock Lee! Hajime!" Genma shouted before leaping back. Lee shot off the moment Genma started the match and leapt into a roundhouse kick. Sasuke however spun to the side and raised his sword, bringing it into a slash that would've cut Lee in half had the green genin not flipped a hand onto he flat of the blade and pushed down on it to avoid injury. Sasuke slumped forward as Lee did so but was quick to bring his free hand up to block the punch the older boy launched. Lee quickly pushed back to get some distance before rushing back in with another kick, this time a sweep at his legs. Sasuke jumped up before flipping in mid-air and slashing straight down at Lee, who quickly rolled out of the way to dodge and kept rolling as Sasuke followed him and continued trying to slash him while he was down. Finally Lee managed to time a kick that Sasuke blocked with the blade. It still had enough force to push him back though which gave him time to hop to his feet.

"Truly impressive Sasuke-san! I am having difficulty breaking past your defense." Lee praised as Sasuke smirked and lifted he blade back up.

"Hn. I saw Zabuza swinging this thing around as if it was as light as a feather. I'm not that strong yet but I sure as hell am fast enough to stop you." He then raised his left hand while his right held the blade and started making one handed seals, much to everyone's shock. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)!" He called out as he spat a large ball of fire towards Lee who rolled to the side to dodge before he ran in and began dodging Sasuke's sword strikes while trying to land a hit of his own.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"How did he learn those?" Naruto muttered as he and the others watched the fight from above.

"Didn't you say Haku could use one-handed seals back in Nami?" Sakura asked from his side getting the boy to face palm himself.

"And of course, he would get the idea from her. Wonder if he even asked her for help on that." Naruto muttered before looking back down at the match to see Lee jumping back as Sasuke's hand glowed and sparked with electricity. "Hold on, since when can he use lightning?" He asked, Sakura shaking her head even as she had her mouth wide open and was staring down in shock.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Fire and lightning?!" Lee gasped before dodging a sparking punch aimed at his midsection and retreating to catch his breath while Sasuke smirked. So far Sasuke had gotten a couple punches in but hadn't managed to cut Lee, just as Lee had gotten in multiple glancing blows but nothing truly harming.

"When I was younger, my father taught me the Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu. While it's a basic technique, to the Uchiha it's a rite of passage. I managed to learn it, but it was extremely hard for me. Even after my clan was killed and I went into my clan's library for more techniques, my clans' signature element of fire was always hard for me to learn. Over the month, Kakashi and I learned why." Sasuke started explaining as he clenched his fist and lighting sparked between his spiked knuckles. "I have a lightning affinity instead of the common fire held by the rest of my deceased family. He even taught me a couple lightning jutsu that I managed to pick up easily to cement the fact. I'll still learn and study fire jutsu to honor my clan, but now I branch out into my real element too." He said as he then charged the Kubikiri with lightning chakra as well, making Lee unconsciously take a step back.

Sasuke just smirked but then charged Lee, moving into a spin with a downward slash from left to right. Lee leapt up to dodge but Sasuke anticipated the move and swung his electrified left fist at the genin. The goken practitioner crossed his arms in a block but was still stunned back from the punch. Not only that but the spiked on his glove left small holes in Lee's arm and the lightning numbed him slightly. Before Lee could do anything else Sasuke had come in and punched him straight in the chest with his arm while it was still charged. Lee cried out as he felt the lightning coursing through his body and Sasuke capitalized by shoulder rushing him and kicking him down to the ground. The bowl cut boy was about to get back up before Sasuke slammed the Kubikiri down over his neck, his flesh in the small curve near the handle, essentially leaving him pinned unless he wanted to decapitate himself.

"I win." The crowd roared in approval as Lee was still staring at the blade in shock. He hadn't even gotten a chance to remove his weights or unleash the gates on Sasuke as the boy managed to knock him down and then capitalize on that split second to pin him in what could've been a killing blow.

"It would seem the Uchiha clans' reputation is well earned." Lee softly let out as Sasuke took the blade off of him and placed it on his back again with chakra. Genma had announced Sasuke the winner as the boy held a hand out to help Lee up. Lee took it and stood before giving Sasuke a bow. "I thank you for such a wondrous match Sasuke-san. I gave it my all in the time we had but failed to achieve victory. It seems your flames of youth were burning much brighter than my own this day!" He finished as he stood straight again with a large grin on his face. Sasuke just stared for a moment wide-eyed at the somewhat disturbing 'flames of youth' comment before just nodding silently and walking towards the waiting area for contestants. "If possible Sasuke-san, I would request a rematch after I train some more!"

"Sure." Sasuke called over his shoulder without looking back. While the spandex was ugly and the eyebrows and hair were almost as creepy as his attitude, even Sasuke couldn't deny the boy was a good match. Maybe next time he'd use just his regular taijutsu without his sword. He needed to keep up his skill in both combat styles after all.

"Congrats Sasuke. That was a good fight." Naruto called out as he reached the waiting area where the rest of the genin were. The boy smirked as he walked over to his teammates and much to his annoyance Sakura instantly hugged him.

"That was great Sasuke-kun!" His eyes twitched while Naruto snickered off to the side so he sent a quick Sharingan enhanced glare at the blond. When Naruto just chuckled more he sighed to himself.

"Sakura. Off." She reluctantly did so with a pout as he rolled his head on his neck and looked at her. "I thought you were past that by now." The girl crossed her arms and huffed.

"Well I haven't seen you in a month, your new outfit is hot and you just won your match without taking any big hits." The girl listed off. "Can you really blame me for wanting to get in at least one hug?" She asked while both boys glanced at each other before looking back at her.

"Yes." They chimed in unison, getting her to huff again and look out to the arena as Genma called the next match.

"Would Kankuro of Suna and Aburame Shino of Konoha please come down?"

'_Damn, it's not time yet.' _Kankuro thought as he gripped one of the straps holding his puppet to his back. _'That match was too short! And I can't go showing off Karasu's hidden mechanisms yet. Looks like I have to take a dive here.' _Just as Shino was about to leave the room Kankuro shouted. "Proctor, I forfeit!" His withdrawal was met with boos and jeers from the crowd above as the proctor narrowed his eyes but nodded.

"Fine, winner by forfeit is Aburame Shino. Then would Temari of Suna and Nara Shikamaru of Konoha come down for their match?" Most of the genin in the room were staring at Kankuro in confusion even as Genma's call rang out. Temari knew why her brother forfeited and considered it the better choice but also knew that one of them had to go out and put on a show or people may suspect something was up. So scoffing at her brother for forcing her to play the part she unfurled her fan and used it to glide down to the arena floor a few feet from Genma. "Well at least you're gonna fight."

"Man this is so troublesome. I think I should just forfeit too. I really don't want to be here." Shikamaru muttered before Sakura tapped him on the shoulder. "What do you want?"

"Ino gave me a message to pass on when you're fight came up." She started before smirking. "Give it your all, or she's telling your mother." Shikamaru's face paled before he started grumbling under his breath and walked out of the room to head down to the arena. Sakura smiled before turning around and seeing Sasuke looking at her. "What?"

"Did Ino really give you a message for him?"

"No, but when I spent some time with her during the month she went on a little rant about how she'd kill him if he didn't fight and then would give him to his mom for the same thing. Apparently the only person capable of getting Shikamaru to do anything is his mother Yoshino." Her teammates nodded before looking down at the arena where Temari had stabbed her fan into the ground and was tapping her foot with crossed arms, showing her impatience.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"I swear, I'm going to kill him for making me wait this damn long." The blond Suna ninja grunted out as it had been five minutes and Shikamaru still hadn't made it down yet.

"Get used to it sweetie, the whole clan is like this." Genma told her before nodding his head towards the door. "But you're wait's over now. There he is." The two were patient, one more than the other, as Shikamaru walked up and stopped a few feet away and yawned.

"Is it too late to go back to bed?" Temari growled at his attitude while Genma chuckled.

"Damn lazy Nara's." He muttered. "Alright then, let's continue. Temari of Suna versus Nara Shikamaru of Konoha, hajime!" He called out before leaping back again. Temari instantly grabbed her fan and whipped it open before gathering chakra along the weapon and swinging it.

"Kamaitachi no Jutsu (Sickle Weasel Technique)!" She shouted as she launched a massive cutting wind at the Nara heir, who was thrown back from the attack. The boy quickly got back to his feet and rushed for the trees as Temari swung her fan again, sending out another blast as large as the first. The dark haired boy dived behind a tree as he quickly tried to think up a plan while Temari jus scoffed. "Hiding? Like that would help you! Kamaitachi!" She shouted, sending another wind blast at him.

'_Damn! How the hell do I beat this?' _Shikamaru thought as he covered up behind his tree to hopefully get the most from his cover. He sighed when the wind stopped and looked up at the clouds in the sky. _'Ya know, I wish I was just a cloud. Floating along.' _His thoughts were broken as Temari launched another wind blast at him. However he noticed this one was more focused as she was cutting into the trees somewhat. _'Fuck. She can change the intensity of those things!' _He cursed in his head before diving behind another tree as the one he was behind wouldn't last against another blast or two. Shikamaru frown before placing his hands in an 'O' in front of him and closing his eyes. He had to think of a plan.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"I don't recognize that hand sign." Kurenai muttered from her spot in the stands. Next to her was her fellow jonin sensei Asuma. The man currently had a cigarette in his mouth though it wasn't lit as smoking wasn't allowed in the stands and because Kurenai would take it if he did.

"It's not a hand-sign. It's just a habit of his. Whenever he gets stuck, whether it's a mission or a game he always stops and goes into that pose."

"A little bit of thought wouldn't help him here though."

"I'd be inclined to agree with you Kurenai, if I didn't know him. Tell me, do you remember his scores at the Academy?"

"They were near the bottom of the class if I recall."

"Yep, that was Shikamaru. However I was confused how come the boy had such low grades and yet would constantly win at any strategy game we ever played. So I gave him an IQ test."

"And? I don't see how games translate to real life Asuma."

"The only reason his grades were so low back in school was because he was to lazy to lift his pencil." Asuma explained. "The kids IQ is over two hundred. He may not be that physical, but he can think his way out of anything."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"What's he planning?" Temari muttered to herself as she waited to see what move Shikamaru would make. The girl got her answer a second later when some kunai were thrown out. She quickly used her fans' metal frame to deflect them before noticing a black line stretching across the ground. Recognizing it as the shadow jutsu he had used in the preliminaries Temari began dodging back until it stopped moving. "So, you thought you could get me with such a pathetic move? Well you failed! Now I know your shadow has a limit! Judging from the distance you managed I'd say you can use other shadows to increase the length."

"Well, you got me." Shikamaru called out as she saw where he was standing off to her left. She narrowed her eyes before turning to her right where the shadow was coming from before cursing as it surged forward again.

'_That bastard! He purposely stretched his shadow to come at me from the other side so that he could lure me into a false sense of security before retracting it along the edge to catch me in the middle!' _Temari cursed in her head as she jumped away from the shadow, only barley managing it. She grit her teeth and opened her fan for another attack before noticing he wasn't wearing his jacket anymore. "Wait a minute where's his jacket?"

"Temari! Above you!" Kankuro called out from the waiting area. Quickly looking up she saw his jacket with a kunai tied by the sleeves floating down like a parachute. She quickly realized what it meant as she looked down and saw the makeshift parachute's shadow be used to extend his shadows length and surge forward to her again. Temari quickly jumped back as far as she could and opened up her fan and stabbed it into the ground to make a barrier to hide behind.

'_Little bastard is smarter than he looks. I'll give him that.' _She thought as she made a plan of her own. However she was distracted as a small ball bounced behind her. _'Wait a minute… that's a flash bomb!' _She realized too late as it exploded in a burst of light and she suddenly found her movements restricted.

"Kage Mane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession Technique) success." Shikamaru commented before walking forward, Temari mimicking him to walk closer as well.

"You used the flash bomb to force my shadow to you the moment I thought I was safe."

"Yep." He drawled as they stopped a few feet from each other. "If this were a game of shogi, then I'd call checkmate." Temari grit her teeth as she knew she was at his mercy before he raised a hand. "I surrender!" He called out, getting everyone to stare in shock.

"Winner, Temari of Suna!" Genma shouted as Shikamaru retracted his shadow.

"Why?" The girl growled out and the boy yawned.

"To be honest I didn't want to fight in the first place. Not only that but I was almost out of chakra from holding my jutsu for so long trying to catch you. I wouldn't have been able to do anything before it would've faded and you would've broken out on your own. I wouldn't have been able to trick you again into getting captured either so unless you gave up there was no way for me to win from that point." Shikamaru explained before rubbing his shoulder and walking away. "Good luck I guess. Troublesome woman." He muttered as he walked away.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"I'm torn between impressed and annoyed from that." Sasuke muttered as he watched from up above, Naruto nodded his agreement.

"Personally I say he could've won that. After all that Suna chick isn't wearing a weapons pouch of any kind. He could've pulled a kunai and held it to her throat." Naruto added as Sasuke shrugged.

"Shikamaru's always been too lazy for his own good." Sakura commented before walking down as she was called for her match, the only Oto entrant in the Finals heading down after her.

"Good luck!" Both her teammates called out to her before looking back to the arena.

"Would dating her be so bad now that she's not a fangirl?" Naruto quietly asked and Sasuke sighed.

"Maybe not…" He admitted. "But I need to avenge my clan first."

"Why?"

"A couple reasons. First off say I start a family, what's to stop Itachi from coming and killing them too? He left me alive for some reason but he may not be so accommodating to anyone I come to care for." Naruto nodded his understanding as Sasuke continued. "And the other reason is what if I do get a family or even kids but then when I confront Itachi, I lose and die? They'd be left alone… like I was." Naruto clasped a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and gave him a slight grin.

"Well you're not alone anymore are ya?" Sasuke smirked before jokingly grunting.

"Hn. With an overpowered blond on a revenge kick and an obsessive fangirl I think I may prefer solitude."

"Yeah, sure. As if you're not on your own little revenge kick mister 'I-have-to-kill-my-brother'."

"Touché."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Haruno Sakura of Konoha versus Kinuta Dosu of Oto! Hajime!" Genma called out as Sakura instantly started back-pedaling while making hand signs, Dosu charging straight at her.

"Like I'll let you hypnotize me like in the forest!" The bandaged genin shouted before slamming his gauntlet covered fist into the ground creating a loud echoing bang. He quickly used his jutsu to focus the sound to her ears and disorient her however Sakura smirked as she continued moving as if nothing was wrong. "What?"

Sakura finished her hand-signs and stopped before calling out her jutsu. "Magen: Daigen (Demonic Illusion: Great Illusion)!" Dosu shut his eyes and froze, thinking she would catch him in an illusion but when nothing changed he opened his eyes and saw that Sakura was gone. He quickly flared his chakra to dispel any illusions he may have been under but nothing changed so he grunted.

'_She faked casting a genjutsu to get me to close my eyes so she could hide. Clever.' _He thought before looking around. _'But I was the tracker on my team for a reason girl. You can't hide from me when I can hear the sound of your breathing!' _Dosu channeled chakra to his ears while slowly panning his head from side to side with his eyes closed before freezing and grinning under his bandages. "Got you." The Oto genin whispered before walking towards his right, towards the trees.

'_So he found me already huh? Guess I may have to unveil _that _after all if I can't catch him in a genjutsu.' _Sakura thought before glancing down and readying a few shuriken. _'Still, I can give it a shot first.'_

Dosu walked into the trees slowly holding his right arm at he ready before suddenly spinning and using it to deflect the shuriken from behind him. As soon as he did more came from both his right and left at the same time. _'Traps. What a waste.' _Dosu thought as he leapt out of the way of most shuriken, using his arm to deflect what he couldn't dodge. He then heard a sizzling noise and glanced down to see an explosive note. "Shit!" He cried as he quickly used a Kawarimi (Body Replacement) to avoid the flaming bang that followed. It was then that Sakura came down above him with a kunai in hand to slash him in the face. However Dosu raised his arm to block the strike.

Or would've had Sakura not dispersed into smoke the moment she came into contact with him. "A clone!" He cursed as more Sakura's came out of the trees and charged him. However Dosu froze and closed his eyes to listen for noises, allowing the clones to simply charge through him as he was in no danger for them. He then quickly whipped his arm out and caught Sakura's outstretched right arm by the wrist as it neared his head. "I can hear your movements against the nothing of the clones girl. Did you think it would be that easy?" He asked as Sakura just glared at him. He then noticed a couple small buds in her ears and narrowed his eyes. "Earplugs. That's how you avoided my other attack."

"You fell for it." Sakura suddenly grinned, even as he held her wrist tightly.

"What?" With a quick pulse of chakra, the arm warmer on her wrist was ripped through by a blade flipping out from underneath it coming from the side of her arm, chopping off a couple of Dosu's fingers as it did. The genin screamed and stumbled back as he clutched his bleeding hand as Sakura ripped the arm warmer off revealing a bladed gauntlet colored sliver and pink that the blade came out of.

"You didn't think you were the only one who could have a fancy gauntlet did you?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"You know, I think she got tired of us having some kind of weapons while she had nothing." Naruto commented as he glanced at his gauntlet while Sasuke adjusted the Kubikiri on his back with a hand.

"Hn."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Now to finish this!" She shouted as she ran forward making hand-signs as she did. Dosu grit his teeth and ignored the pain in his hand while he met her charge. The two exchanged a flurry of punched before suddenly Sakura slashed with her blade and Dosu blocked with his gauntlet. However the moment he did, a loud ringing noise went out and his ears began to scream in his head. He dropped to his knees clutching at them as he tried to figure out what was wrong. "You think Oto has a monopoly on using sound?" She asked, not that Dosu could hear her over the ringing he was still trying to figure out. She grinned before kicking him hard in the head and knocking him unconscious. "That was a sound activated genjutsu that causes a ringing in the ears, making it harder to hear any sound. With your advanced hearing, I'd say you probably went deaf." She explained.

"Winner! Haruno Sakura of Konoha!" Genma called out as the crowd began cheering for her. She gave a smile and wave to the crowd before walking back up to the waiting area and retracting her blade into the gauntlet. As she reached the top she saw that Naruto wasn't there and Sasuke was staring intently down at the arena floor.

"Congratulations Sakura." He spoke, showing he knew she had entered. She walked up and looked down to see Naruto and Gaara already standing across from each other.

"How did they get down there so fast? They never went past me."

"Hn. That Gaara kid used a Shunshin (Body Flicker) the second you left the arena and Naruto just leapt over the railing." Her teammate explained before glancing at her gauntlet. "It's pink."

"I like pink." Sakura defended as he just grunted again and looked back to watch their more experienced teammate. Sakura just let out a small smile before looking down with him.

"The Final match of the Chunin Exam Finals opening round. Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha versus Sabaku no Gaara of Suna. Hajime!"


	18. 18

**Kingswriter: **What seems wrong with Sakura's victory? Dosu was rather one-dimensional in his attack so if you've seen it before and know what's coming then it's rather easy to prepare for and defeat. Plus my Sakura is far stronger than her canon counterpart. So why does her winning her match seem to be wrong?

**DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles: **Who says I have to change Hinata? What says Naruto's tastes in women haven't changed over time? To be honest though, both Naruto and Hinata will be going through a couple changes as they grow closer together. It'll just take some time.

**Leaf Ranger: **It's similar to the hidden blade gauntlets used in Assassin's Creed but rather than come out under the wrist the blade sticks out from the side of the arm. It doesn't point straight ahead but off to the side for slashing motions rather than stabs.

**Noa Nee: **It's pretty much just like her Shippuden outfit only with slightly different colors. It's not that hard to get actually.

**Author's Note: **The long awaited fight between Naruto and Gaara is finally here and is an entire chapter long! To be honest this was one of the points I've had planned out entirely since the beginning of the story. I hope you all enjoy it! There's also a movie quote in here, see if you can find it!

**18 - **Inner Demons

Naruto stared impassively at the red head across from him, remembering his training over the month with Jiraiya that he did to prepare for this moment. His opponent was Sabaku no Gaara, the jinchuriki to the Ichibi no Tanuki and youngest son of the Yondaime Kazekage. His fighting style was stationary and long distance in that he manipulated sand via his chakra for offense or defense without requiring hand-signs for all but the strongest of his arsenal. Not only that but his seal was unstable to an extent as he was in constant mental contact to the demon and had even been twisted to calling the beast his mother. Not only that but his condition was common knowledge among Suna's people and as such he was hated and feared by everyone. In an attempt to likely gain attention as well as stop the attacks, Gaara began killing people. It worked in that the attacks stopped, but people came to fear and ignore him more, leading the boy to kill more in response. He had been twisted entirely to the belief that it's only through killing others and erasing threats that one is truly alive.

All in all, the boy scared Naruto slightly.

It wasn't his jutsu or his status as another jinchuriki that frightened him. Those actually didn't make much of an impression on Naruto other than 'be careful'. It was his mindset. The way he only felt alive by killing. How he believed it was only through the death of others that his life had meaning. And that admittedly scared the blond.

Because that was almost him.

What if he had been continuously ignored to that extent? What if he had started fighting back against the mobs when he was younger? What if his seal wasn't so strong and Kyuubi had been talking to him since he was a child? What if he never met Koji or Sakuya? Never made friends, or had people who cared about him? What if even they had hated him when they were around? All the what ifs pointed to one thing in Naruto's mind.

He almost was Gaara. And that scared him.

The red head grinned as the cork to his gourd popped off and sand spilled onto the ground around him. His face slowly twitching from an impassive mask to an insane grin. The Suna boy was going to enjoy their fight. The struggle, the blood, the hopeful ending of death. Gaara was going to love every second of it. There wasn't any doubt that in his head the Ichibi was going to be cheering its container on. Naruto got into a stance as he summoned out the Kagirinai Buyou from the seal on his glove and set it spinning in his right behind him as he held is left hand forward, he gauntlet glowing a very light red to signify its readiness to erupt into fire. Genma looked from face to face before leaping back and calling out the match as was his duty.

"Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha versus Sabaku no Gaara of Suna! Hajime!"

Naruto ran forward as bullets of sand were sent flying at him. With expert dexterity he smacked them all aside with the spinning blade in his hand before leaping up and raising his left hand, the gauntlet finally sparking to life with fire. "Hitsume (Fire Claw)!" He shouted as he slashed down, sending a jagged wave of flame at the unstable boy. Sand quickly responded to the threat by forming a wall in front of Gaara that took the fire head on. There was a slight explosion but when the smoke cleared the sand was glowing red slightly from the heat but was otherwise fine. Naruto however hadn't expected that to actually work and had moved on the moment he launched the attack, landing and rushing for Gaara again. The red head narrowed his eyes but otherwise made no move as the sand rushed out to meat him. Grinning at the predictable attack, Naruto channeled wind chakra through the weapon in his hands to increase the cutting power to extreme levels and began spinning it in front of himself to cut through the wave and reach the boy who was stunned someone managed to get past his sand.

It was obviously the first time it had ever happened.

Keeping up his grin, Naruto covered his left fist in fire as he moved the Kagirinai Buyou out of the way and used his flaming fist to punch Gaara straight in the jaw. The Suna genin was sent back and before he could get up, Naruto pressed his advantage and sent another Hitsume at his stunned form. The explosion from the attack made many gasp or cheer for their preferred combatant.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

In the waiting area both Kankuro and Temari were gaping in shock. "He… he hit Gaara…" Temari gasped out.

"Hn. Don't be so surprised. Naruto's going to hit him a lot more." Sasuke grunted out without taking his eyes off the fight. Kankuro shook his head.

"No, you don't get it. He _hit _Gaara. Nobody's _ever _hit Gaara." Sakura glanced over to see how scared the siblings were now that Gaara had taken a blow before looking back at the fight.

"There's a first time for everything."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto kept his blade spinning as the sand rushed to Gaara, even though he couldn't see the boy yet. When the smoke cleared, Gaara was on the ground breathing heavily with cracks on his face. He watched as sand filled the cracks before grunting. "Sand armor huh? I didn't think it would be that easy."

"You… you hit me." Gaara spoke stunned even as he got to his feet. "I'll make you pay! Mother will enjoy your blood!"

"Your mother can eat shit for all I care! It's a fucking retarded Tanuki anyways!" Naruto shot back as Gaara growled and pointed at him.

"You will not speak of mother like that Uzumaki!" Naruto sighed and rolled his head on his shoulders.

"Yeah your right, your mom's cool I guess." He apologized before shaking his head. "What the hell am I saying?" He growled before darting at Gaara again. This time the boy waved his hands in front of him as the sand raised itself as a wall in front of him. From the wall spike grew before being launched at Naruto, aiming to pierce him straight through. Naruto again used the Kagirinai Buyou to deflect the projectiles but quickly realized he wasn't going to cut his way through this wall as easily as the other and decided to change tactics. With a burst of chakra to his feet Naruto vanished from Gaara's line of sight entirely, utilizing speeds only the more experienced ninja in the crowd could follow safely.

"What?" He gasped out before feeling a fist in his gut. He folded over the hard punch before taking a kick to his legs that swept him off his feet. Naruto quickly then spun on his foot to raise the same foot he swept under Gaara above his head before slamming it down into Gaara's chest. The boy coughed as the air was crushed out of his lungs and he struck the ground hard. His sand rushed to his aid as Naruto ran from it to avoid being hurt. The blond stopped a few feet away and turned around to see how Gaara was coughing and attempting to stand up.

"What's wrong Gaara? Can't take it when you're the one getting beat?" He growled as he remembered how the boy had mercilessly beat Hinata in the forest. He had even been told from talking with the girl that he had apparently slaughtered a team from Ame without blinking. "I was expecting more honestly."

Gaara began growling before getting up to his knees and making a ram sign. Naruto's eyes widened as he rushed forward but rather than attack him the sand began to make a sphere around him. The blond grit his teeth as the shell closed and then grew spikes to attack him as he got too close. Trying from another angle met the same result as more spikes grew around him. Naruto leapt back and then noticed sand gathering above the orb to form and eye and flipped it off to show his irritation. _'Okay, think Naruto. That sand has now made a self defending ball of likely dense and chakra infused sand protection for him. He even used a hand seal for it meaning it's gotta be tough or be a precursor to one of his real tough moves. I'll bet the floating eye of his will also allow him to see the outside so he can react and plan with safety inside of it. Since he obviously won't come out until he's ready, I have to think of a way to break _in_.' _The blond thought before moving Sakuya's old weapon to his left hand and flexing his right. "I guess this'll have to do." He muttered.

The blond channeled chakra to his left hand to make the gauntlet, and by extension the Kagirinai Buyou, to erupt in flames before he started spinning it in front of him while holding his right hand back. The stance seemed to be a reverse of his opening one. Without a word he charged, spinning the flaming weapon in front of him while gathering more chakra to his right hand. The sand eye followed his movements even as the orb sent out its spikes as he got close. However they failed to reach him as the flaming blades sent the spikes harmlessly to the side before he spun the weapon out of the way and punched forward with a bright blue glowing ball of chakra in his right hand. "Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere)!"

The attack began to grind into the sphere of sand, even as it struggled to hold against the powerful jutsu. Sand flew in every direction as the smaller orb pushed it out of the way until with a yell of exertion from Naruto the jutsu broke into the sphere and collided with the shoulder of the boy inside. There was screaming before the back of the sand shell was blown out by Gaara being propelled from the Rasengan's force. The sand around Naruto's arm fell lifelessly as the Ichibi jinchuriki rolled along the ground to a stop breathing heavily, his gourd having fallen off his back during the tumble.

Up in the stands everyone was in shock by the recent developments. The Suna visitors, Shinobi or otherwise, were all gaping in fear and shock at how the blond was systematically ripping through their weapon and terror without effort. The Konoha Shinobi were wondering how he knew the Yondaime Hokage's prized ninjutsu while the civilians were seething at the 'demon' supposedly disrespecting their fallen hero by using his attack. The daimyos and lords though were merely cheering their excitement at such a match.

Back on the arena floor Gaara slowly go to his feet before he saw something red drip to the ground. He raised a shaky hand to his forehead and pulled back to see his fingers were now red as well. "B-blood. It's blood mother. B-but whose… it's m-my blood. My blood." The boy muttered before he seemed to fully realize that he was bleeding. "AH! MOTHER IT'S MY BLOOD! I'M BLEEDING! MOTHER HELP!" He screamed, getting Naruto tense up as the Suna Shinobi in the crowd all flinched in terror. Naruto watched in confusion as the gourd dissolved into sand and flew to Gaara before wrapping around him, the boy now muttering help under his breath before freezing up. "Yes mother… I will mother… Yes… Yes. Yes!" He chanted as he stood up and was covered by a twister of sand that spun around him and hid him from view. When the sand cleared Naruto quick got ready to keep fighting.

"Well that isn't good." Gaara had changed as his left arm was now a large sand claw with blue markings on it. Going from his shoulder down his back was more sand that even grew a tail that matched the claw in design. However the biggest change was his face. The sand had climbed up the left side of his face and changed half of it into the snarling visage of the Ichibi he housed. Even his eye had changed as the sclera was now black and the eye was a golden color. His pupil had morphed into a four pointed star while there were four dots surrounding it.

"Come Uzumaki! Prove my existence!" He shouted before swinging his claw and sending out multiple shuriken of sand. Naruto deflected each as they came before noticing that Gaara himself had run forward, finally going on a physical charge in the battle. The blond cursed before putting up a guard to defend himself as Gaara's claw crashed into him and sent him flying. _'So strong!' _Naruto thought as he flipped in mid-air to correct himself before landing. He grunted slightly and shook his arms to rid them of the numbness Gaara's attack brought before preparing for the shift in combat.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"He's using that!" Kankuro exclaimed as he backed away from the railing. The last time he saw Gaara like that, he hadn't been able to eat for a weak. Temari shivered in similar fear but didn't back away instead watching the fight, or more specifically her younger brother who was being pushed farther than he ever had.

"What is that?" Sasuke mumbled as he activated his Sharingan to get a closer look. Sakura idly noticed it was fully developed into a three tomoe version before looking back to the arena.

"What can you see?" She asked, knowing he would have a much better knowledge of the proceedings now thanks to his Kekkei Genkai.

"That sand covering him… it's filled with some kind of chakra. But the chakra seems different than regular chakra. It's like it's darker or something." He explained as he narrowed his eyes. Surprisingly Temari spoke up.

"Do either of you know just what a jinchuriki is?" Sasuke and Sakura glanced at her but nodded. "Have you seen your teammate use his demons' powers?" Shino, who was the only uninformed party in the waiting area, was confused by what she meant by 'demon' but Sasuke and Sakura nodded, both remembering the small glimpse from when Naruto used it in the forest to drive off Orochimaru. "Well that was your teammates. This is Gaara's."

"Shit." Sakura cursed as they turned back to the fight in time to see Naruto get sent flying from a massive strike again.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Damn!" Naruto cursed as his back hit the arena wall that time and he fell to the ground before stumbling to his knees.

"Come on Uzumaki! Use it! Use the power that cursed you! Use the power they forced on you! I want to kill you at your best! You won't prove my existence otherwise!" Gaara shouted as Naruto glared at him and stood. Ever since he had changed into this partial transformation Naruto hadn't been handling the fight very well. Gaara's control over sand had weakened but not vanished as he found out when some tendrils of sand on the ground had latched onto his legs to prevent movement and then he slammed him in the chest with his giant claw. Not only that but the boy now seemed to ignore or revel in pain as Naruto had managed to cut his exposed chest a couple times and he just laughed while attacking Naruto through the wounds. Gaara was an entirely different fight than he was prepared for now. He couldn't even slap suppression tags on him since one of Gaara's hits had ripped open his kunai pouch and destroyed the tags he had prepared. A total stroke of luck in the red heads' favor as the boy didn't know about the seals and would've been instantly beaten had one been placed on him.

"I don't fucking want to. I hate using that power." Naruto growled out as he stood back up and glared at Gaara.

"Then I'll make you use it!" He cried as he charged again. Naruto ran forward, running wind chakra through his weapon to meet him. Gaara lashed out with his claw but Naruto ducked under while spinning his blade up and cutting the sand limb off. Gaara screamed in apparent pain as Naruto kicked him directly in his face and sent him back. The blond quickly moved from the limp limb even though it had been removed, it was still sand and thus still dangerous. Gaara was screaming while holding his now apparent stump of an arm before his screams of pain turned to laughter as more sand gathered around him. Again Gaara was obscured from view for a moment and when it cleared Naruto cursed again.

Gaara had undergone another change, or rather completed the first one. He was now covered in sand entirely, both arms and a tail as well as his head were now sand with blue markings covering them. Both his eyes were now demonized though Naruto noticed with some confusion that his tattoo of the kanji for 'love' was still on his forehead. The only human portion of Gaara still left were the two tiny human legs sticking out from underneath he mini-Ichibi. "Damn, I really wish I still had those suppression tags." Naruto muttered. Gaara laughed as multiple mouths appeared and opened on Gaara's body.

"Futon: Mugen Sagen Daitoppa (Infinite Sandstorm Devastation)!" He cried as large blasts of sand infused wind were fired from the mouths at Naruto. The blond cursed before anchoring himself to the ground with chakra and spinning the Kagirinai Buyou in front of him to provide a defense. However Gaara kept his jutsu up until it broke through and the blond was sent back and crashed onto the ground. "Use it Uzumaki! You will die otherwise!"

The blond growled as he stood up and glared at Gaara before coming to a decision. He stabbed one end of Sakuya's weapon into the ground before undoing the gauntlet from his left hand and setting it gently on the other end. He rubbed his now bare left hand as he took a few steps away from them. Gaara narrowed his eyes at the move. "You want me to use it fine. I'll finish this on my own, without help from my past teammates." He stated before closing his eyes.

'_Give me some juice here Kyuubi.'_

"**Be sure to humiliate Shukaku and his boy, child, and I'll give it gladly." **His biju responded as Naruto felt the dark power of the demon course through him. Opening his eyes revealed they had changed from the bright blues people knew to blood red, the pupils lengthened to vertical slits. However that wasn't Naruto's only change. His whisker marks thickened into jagged scars on his face and his fingernails lengthened into short but sharp claws. And then the chakra bubbled out of him, a bright bloody red. It started from his chest before covering his entire body and then changing slightly. Around his head, two 'ears' of the red chakra formed, reminiscent of fox ears while behind him a long and waving tail formed. Naruto growled as the tail then split in two and his lips turned black as if he had covered them in lipstick of the same color. The boy snarled, revealing his teeth had also lengthened into sharp fangs.

"**You wanted me to use this Gaara. Well now you'll see a taste of why I'm feared as the ****Kurai Kitsune (Dark Fox)****." **The now sand covered red head growled in response and charged Naruto. The chakra covered blond stood impassively against the charge until Gaara reached him and slashed at him with his left claw and then he struck.

Gaara didn't know what happened. One second he was swinging at the infuriating blond and the next he was gone. Naruto just vanished from the spot in front of him. Gaara stumbled forward from the unexpected lack of resistance before feeling a burning slash to his back. The sand protected him and even removed the damage but the fact was Naruto was behind him. Growling Gaara swung behind him with both claws only to strike air as Naruto was not there. The Ichibi container was then struck in the gut making him bend over the leg that had kicked him before it vanished and a fist collided with his chin making him look to the sky. He could hardly keep up with the fact he was taking multiple hits when his tail was grabbed and he was lifted and thrown across the arena. Gaara crashed into the ground before getting up and screaming to the sky as he couldn't seem to fight the Kyuubi-fied blond.

"**I hate this power." **Naruto's voice rang out from behind him. Gaara spun and swung but was avoided and hit in the back of his head. **"Every single time I use it I have to relive the nightmares." **Gaara stumbled forward as he was struck in the back of the head. **"I see Koji-nii jumping in front of a barrage of kunai and shuriken for me. His last words begging Sakuya-chan and I to watch over his ninken Kairi." **Gaara coughed up blood from a brutal kick straight into his gut from below. He growled and swung directly in front of him but like before he was avoided. **"I see Sakuya-chan shoving me out of the way of a spike made of earth. Her tearful eyes locked to mine as the life left them." **Gaara was struck by a barrage of attacks from every direction until he was finally hit hard enough to make him collapse onto the ground. **"Every minute, **_**every second**_**, I have to have these memories forced through my mind as my body courses with this damn power." **Naruto spoke as he walked forward from behind Gaara.** "And you… you made me use it. What do you think I'm going to do to you for this?"** He asked as Gaara growled and leapt at him from the ground. This time Naruto didn't dodge as the claws came down at him. Instead his hands whipped up and the chakra claws grabbed Gaara's sand made ones and stopped them cold. **"I'll tell you what I'm going to do, Sabaku no Gaara." **Naruto growled as he shoved Gaara's claws away. **"I'm going to hurt you."**

"I won't let you!" The now terrified Suna genin shouted as he tried to strike Naruto again.

"**You don't have a choice!" **Naruto shouted before ducking under the attack and kicking Gaara straight in the chin, sending the boy into the air. Up in the stands the two spandex clad goken practitioners recognized the kick he used and even the follow up. Naruto vanished from his spot as he began using his speed to strike Gaara from multiple directions seemingly at once. Every time the sand covered boy was hit from one direction, he would be hit from another in less than a second. His large frame was bounced around in the air before being hit by a powerful strike from above. He crashed into the ground, cracking it under the combined force of his weight and momentum. Just as Gaara thought the barrage was over Naruto slammed both feet into his chest by falling from the sky as hard as he could into him. **"****Kitsune Rendan (Fox Barrage)****!"**

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Holy shit!" Sakura cried out as she watched Naruto destroy Suna's jinchuriki with wide eyes. Temari and Kankuro were shaking next to each other at the other end of the railing. If Konoha's jinchuriki could so easily crush their village's ultimate power, how would the invasion plan go when it focused so heavily on him? Like his pink haired teammate Sasuke was staring wide eyed at the arena floor as Naruto got off Gaara.

"I could only see a red blur, even with the Sharingan!"

"At least you saw a blur!" Sakura shot back as Shino had taken a step back from the railing ever since Naruto began using his demonic power. His insects were screaming inside of him to stay away from Naruto, or rather run as far as possible. His chakra was too large, too strong, too _evil _for them to touch.

'_Uzumaki Naruto… what are you?'_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Kakashi." Gai started from where he stood beside Lee who was sitting down. The boy had come up to be near his sensei after his loss and was given the man's seat as he was slightly exhausted from his short but powerful and skillful match. "That kick followed by that barrage. It's almost exactly like the Ura Renge (Reverse Lotus) Lee and I use."

"I know." The man admitted. "He saw Lee use the kick as a starter to the Omote Renge (Primary Lotus) before. And I had described the Ura version of the move to him once before as well. He figured out later that while under the influence of _that_, he has enough power and speed for the move and worked to recreate it to his abilities. The end result is what you just saw." The man explained to his friend. Gai nodded slowly as he was both impressed and frightened by what he was told. To recreate such an advanced and dangerous taijutsu kinjutsu off of such off hand knowledge and not only that but then use it flawlessly under a different power than intended was disturbingly hard. That Naruto had done it…

"I fear what would've happened if he had ever given into his hatred Kakashi. Naruto-kun is terrifyingly strong for his age."

"I know. But I'm more scared for Iwa. Naruto hasn't given up on his dream of destroying them for what they did."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"So strong…" Orochimaru muttered to himself as he was disguised as the Kazekage and sat next to his old sensei.

"My apologies Kazekage-dono, but I don't believe any of your children will be winning their matches." Sarutobi cut in, watching and listening to Naruto with a solemn gaze. He knew the boy had suffered, and he couldn't do anything to help. The fact the boy he looked at like a grandson had to be cursed with such a vile power and be hated for it, the old Hokage couldn't help but blame himself for no doing more. He could've, but had been to busy helping the village overall recover as well as stopping Danzo's attempts at getting the boy under his control. By the time he was able to check in on Naruto their wasn't much he could do without taking the boy in himself or allowing a clan to do so. However the council shot those proposals down arguing a jinchuriki couldn't be tied down to a single clan due to the risk of them holding the clan higher than the village. Sarutobi would often to this day curse the council for stopping him from ever helping Naruto.

"Possibly. Gaara isn't quite done yet." The 'Kazekage' replied. In his head though Orochimaru's thoughts were a whirlwind of activity. _'On one hand I hate that boy! First he stops me from marking Sasuke-kun and now he's crushing Gaara when we need him for my plan to crush this accursed village! But on the other… I need him. That power at my beck and call, to use as I wish? I need him under my control! I need to twist him to my views, to my ideals! And then, I will be unstoppable with the Kyuubi at my side!'_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto sent a cold look down at the gasping Suna ninja as the sand seemed to dissolve from it's shape and reveal the red head within. The boy turned his eyes to the still demonically charged genin above him hatefully. **"Is that all?" **Naruto asked. **"Is that how weak you are?" **The blond turned around and started walking back towards where he left his weapons. **"I thought you said fighting for others makes you weak. But why am I the one walking away then?"**

"No…" Gaara moaned as he glared at Naruto hatefully. "I can't lose…" The sand around him started shaking wildly as his chakra spiked. "I can't lost to someone like him!" He shouted as there was an explosion of sand and smoke. Naruto spun around before quickly leaping back as a large clawed foot crashed down where he had just been. The blond cursed as he looked up and then paled at what he saw.

Gaara had done a full transformation. Not a miniature like he had been doing but rather a full sized transformation into the biju within him. The only thing of Gaara that remained was the boy's own upper body sticking out of its forehead, glaring down at him. From the Tanuki's feet waves of sand powered out and began to overtake the arena floor. As the wave neared Naruto, bullets of the coarse grains were rapidly fired at him. Naruto dashed out of the way before stopping at his weapons to pick them up. He placed the Kagirinai Buyou on his back and held it there with chakra as he slipped the gauntlet on his left hand and tightened the straps holding on back to normal. The sand continued to rush forward so Naruto slashed at the wave with his left hand.

"**Hitsume****!" **He cried as a wave of fire even larger than his first flew out and collided with the sand. Unlike before though, when the sand had been red but otherwise unchanged, this time the sand had been super heated to glass instantly. But it was still for naught as only the sand hit by the flames was changed. The rest broke through the fresh and brittle glass and continued rushing forward as more sand ground the glass into dust to be added to its sandy trove. Naruto saw all this as it happened before rushing away. There was nowhere to run though as sand was coming it at him from all sides. Naruto growled in his throat before dropping to all fours and increasing his speed.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Up in the stands people were screaming in terror seeing what Gaara had become. It was only because the demon was focused on Naruto that nobody ran from the obvious threat. Shinobi tensed themselves, ready to intervene with the match should the biju turn away from its opponent while others were getting ready to begin he invasion. Gaara's changing, while early, was still a good thing and once they had the signal they would all rush out to destroy Konoha.

"Kazekage-dono, I believe you should get your son to stop this now." Sarutobi spoke with barely hidden contempt a how the boy had unleashed a full possession while within the village.

"Why?" Orochimaru responded getting Sarutobi to turn a shocked glare at the man so he chuckled. "Gaara is still in full control and thus no threat to your civilians. Why should I tell him to stop using the abilities he possesses simply due to the risk? All battles carry some, this one just more so. Besides, wouldn't it be quite hypocritical for me to order Gaara to stop using his biju when your own jinchuriki is so clearly using his own?" Orochimaru countered. The Hokage paused before reluctantly nodding and looking back to the fight. "Should Gaara turn away from the Uzumaki boy, I will step up and do what is necessary. But until then he is not breaking any rules and thus will not be interfered with."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto tossed out another Hitsume to avoid more sand before leaping over the newly made glass wall and continuing his charge. He had already figured out the one safe place from the sand was above it on the walls so he had been running to the side opposite the crowd. Otherwise when he went up the sides of the arena, they ma have gotten caught in the crossfire. Reaching the bottom of the wall Naruto placed one foot on it before rushing straight up it to avoid a crashing wave of sand. However he was not as safe as he thought as large tendrils of sand rushed after him from the now desert field, each crashing into the wall after him as they chased him down to grab him. Naruto continued his charge on the wall as he swerved to and fro to dodge the sand when he heard a loud crash and looked up.

Above him Gaara had raised his giant left claw and slammed the wall above him, making it collapse and rain the ruin down to him while also weakening his foot holds as the wall he ran on cracked and splintered under the weight of the attack. The blond reacted quickly by avoiding the larger debris while also staying on the more stable portion of the wall before he ran out of options and leapt onto a piece of falling stone. He used it as a stepping stone and began jumping from piece to piece when he felt it grab his leg. The sand! He had entirely forgotten the sand chasing him. Wrapping tightly around his leg the sand whipped around, smashing him against the wall and debris alike until it tossed him into the open air. Before he had time to recover from the brutal attack all grew dark as Gaara's right claw came down from above and smashed him to the sand below. Naruto screamed in pain from the blow even as Kyuubi healed him from within.

He could hear people in the stands calling out to him worriedly, some shouting for him to stand and fight, others for him to surrender to stop the battle. Among all the voices he heard Kakashi's worried cries, Sakura's concerned voice and Sasuke screaming for him to just quit now before it was too late. But he couldn't. He knew from the start this was possible. He knew he had to fight with this ability being an entirely possible scenario he'd have to face. And he knew, he had to stop Gaara. He was the only one who truly could. Naruto had come into this battle with a mission. And he wasn't going to back out of it now.

Shakily the blond got to his feet, swearing he could hear his very bones cry out for him to stop. The genin pushed those complaints from his mind as he stood and glared up at the sand user who was grinning madly down at him. "Do you see Uzumaki?! This is the power I have! I am strong because I love only myself! I fight only for myself! And that is why you will never beat me!" The blond scoffed at his words.

"**Hmph. I'm still standing aren't I? You aren't that scary to me sand rat." **He taunted as Gaara growled before making hand-signs, putting Naruto on edge. If he needed signs for a jutsu now when he was practically unstoppable, what kind of jutsu was this?

"Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu (Feigning Sleep Technique)!" He called out before slumping over. Naruto and many others narrowed their eyes in confusion wondering just what he did before the biju's eyes flashed. Before they were the same color as Gaara's but were dull and lifeless. But now they were the same gold with star pupils that the red head sported during his mini-transformation. The biju blinked a couple times before grinning up to the sky

"**I'M FREE!" **It cheered before looking down and seeing Naruto. **"And I get to crush Kyuubi's boy! I love ya Gaara!" **Shukaku cried before raising a foot. **"Time to squish a fox!" **It squealed with demented glee before slamming its foot down where Naruto had just been as the boy moved to dodge. **"Stay still ya little bastard!" **It shouted at the miss before manipulating the sand to rise up around Naruto on all sides and crash on him. Naruto paled before igniting his gauntlet and spinning in a circle to provide a defensive wall of fire. More and more sand kept piling down on the blond as he kept turning it to glass in the hopes he could outlast the bijou's assault before some sand broke through and clung to him. More sand started breaking through his defense until Naruto was covered in the grains, unseen beneath the tan sea.

"**Child…" **Kyuubi commented in Naruto's mind as the boy's mind flashed with memories. The bonds he had with Koji and Sakuya. The rage he still had for Iwa due to their deaths. His relationship with Kakashi and the Hokage, both he looked up to as family. And even his new friendships with Sasuke and Sakura. No… Naruto wasn't through just yet.

"**ENOUGH!" **Naruto screamed as and explosion of red chakra blasted the sand away. However the blond had gone through a couple more changes of his own. His teeth were longer, making his fangs even more pronounced as a third tail had formed behind him. Not only that but his eyes were different. There was no longer any difference between the sclera or iris. Everything was just a pure glowing red, clearly sanding out against the red of the chakra cloak he had formed already.

Shukaku froze for a second before growling sending more sand in but Naruto vanished. **"Where'd he go?" **The biju growled before looking down and seeing a ring of melted sand around him and seeing a red blur racing around him in a counter-clockwise manner. **"What the?"**

'_Faster… hotter… more chakra…' _Naruto chanted ins his mind as he dragged the Kiba no Makai through the sand while it was lit to set up the jutsu. Naruto ran around the Tanuki faster and faster before he charged chakra through the gauntlet into the circle he had formed with it. **"****Hashira no Hi (Pillar of Flame)****!" **He cried as the circle erupted in fire, blasting the biju within its circumference. Shukaku screamed at the heat before the attack stopped and it regenerated itself by drawing on the sand around them. Turning a glare down at the boy showed him standing a few feet away with a cold and blank look fixed on him.

"**Ya little bastard! ****Futon: Rendukan (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)****!"** The biju cried as it hit itself in the gut and launched a bullet of spiraling wind down at the blond. Naruto just channeled chakra to his lungs and roared, dispelling the jutsu as it got close via air pressure alone. He then reached for the dual naginata still attached to his back. He held it with his right hand before letting it go, it being supported by the chakra surrounding the hand alone. **"I'll kill ya!" **Shukaku growled before slamming its right claw down on the boy. **"I got him!"** It cheered before a sharp whistle drew its attention to the claw it had just slammed down. Standing on top of it with the same cold look was Naruto, completely unharmed. The biju growled before Naruto raised up his right hand, the Kagirinai Buyou being held next to it by chakra. Without a word the blade began to spin. It only took a couple seconds before it was spinning faster than any saw in the world. With a grunt Naruto slammed his hand down, making the make-shift saw carve itself into the bijou's arm.

Shukaku screamed as Naruto quickly started running up the sand limb towards the head, dragging his weapon through the arm as he went. By the time he reached the shoulder Naruto spun and channeled wind chakra to the blade, making it chop the arm off at the shoulder. He quickly leapt to Gaara's spot on the Ichibi's head, correctly assuming that if Gaara woke up he'd be placed back in control. Shukaku raised its other arm to try and swat him out of the air but Naruto was having none of it. With a grunt he tossed the still charged spinning blade through the other arm, cutting it off as well even as Shukaku screamed in further pain. The weapon embedded itself in part of the still standing wall behind the biju as Naruto landed right in front of Gaara. **"Wake up!" **He shouted as he punched Gaara in the chin, flipping the boy back from his perch.

"**No! I just got out!" **Shukaku cried as Gaara slowly woke and the bijou's eyes' flashed back to their lifeless blue they had before Gaara let the demon out. The boy took a second to regain his bearings before staring at Naruto fearfully.

"No! You won't end my existence!" He screamed as sand rushed out to grab Naruto. The blond just jumped above them before coming back down with an axe kick straight to Gaara's forehead.

"**Shut up you sand faced bastard!"** The kick seemed to echo out through the entire arena as the giant biju construct started to crack before it fell apart, Gaara falling with it. As Naruto seemed to hover in the air for a moment a tail shot out and wrapped around the Kagirinai Buyou before retracting it to Naruto's outstretched hand. Naruto spun the blade as he fell into the mixture of sand and smoke that had everyone wondering what was happening within it. There was a thud that many assumed was Gaara hitting the ground before he screamed and a blade was heard cutting into something.

"GAARA!"


	19. 19

**Kage Vincent: **Actually, I agree with you. From a literary stand point there was no real reason to leave it as a cliffhanger with Naruto charging a downed Gaara and possibly killing him. The reason I left it like that was pretty simple and admittedly petty, to build p interest for this chapter and get everyone hooked o see If I killed off Gaara or no. I could've said I didn't and that would've been that. I also could've said I did and left this chapter for the massive blow-up that would surely follow. Instead I left Gaara's ultimate fate uncertain in order to hook people into waiting for the next chapter and get more reviews. Petty? Yep and I'm not ashamed to admit it was. Effective? Most definitely.

**mellral: **The relationship between Kurama/Kyuubi and Naruto won't be changing for a bit and even when it does it won't be like canon has it. They will eventually come to accept one another but it won't be because Naruto is some 'I can change all the hatred' optimist like canon. Rather it will be based mostly on respect. Naruto will come to respect the demon's power and experience while Kurama in turn will come to respect Naruto's skill, judgment and drive. It'll just take a while.

**Shinobi of life: **That's a question that has been starting to become a bit more common as the story progressed. Will Sasuke turn traitor like his canon counterpart? I could answer this but I won't because things are going to take a major jump from canon soon that will render that question useless since it will be obvious if he does or does not.

**Lotth: **What comments about old Sarutobi? I'm not kidding, only one person so far has actually commented on his fate asking for the old man to survive. Besides, I already have his fate planned out so it's not like asking me to change it now will matter.

**Guest: **Naruto is going to eventually be S-rank and have full control of Kyuubi. But that is so far away right now it's not even funny. That's not till the last couple arcs of the Shippuden years of my story.

**Authors' Note: **Now I got a lot of questions as to why the Invasion didn't kick off last chapter since Shukaku came out. I actually have a couple reasons as to why. One was simply because I didn't want it to start then. As the author it's my decision in the end and I didn't want anything to interrupt my Naruto vs. Gaara fight. Now as for an actual story reason; Orochimaru didn't give the signal because he wanted to do everything possible to weaken Naruto. After seeing the boy's potential in the Forest of Death he knew he needed to bring Naruto down somehow or he could pose a threat to the plan. As such, while Gaara is a key point in the Invasion, the Sannin has back-ups in place incase Naruto beats him. Gaara's main point in the plan here was to take out Naruto and then rampage on the village. Plus if Orochimaru gave the signal for the Invasion, no doubt some Shinobi could jump in and help Naruto fight off the Biju. By holding them back, he could legitimately make sure Konoha couldn't run in to save Naruto in the event their jinchuriki started losing. Obviously Naruto has won the fight and taken Gaara out of the Invasion (whether the boy is alive or dead doesn't matter, dead is dead and alive would mean too weak to fight) so Orochimaru is going to have to use his back up plans and hope Naruto has been weakened enough not to pose a major threat to the destruction of Konoha he longs for.

* * *

><p><strong>19 - <strong>Unleash War

"**Shut up you sand faced bastard!" **Naruto shouted as he axe kicked Gaara straight in the boy's head. The giant sand demon they were on top of seemed to echo with the kick before it began to crack, Gaara's attached form being the focal point. Without a word the demon of sand shattered and dissolved back into the material of its make as Gaara fell to the ground with the sand cushioning him. One of Naruto's three chakra tails whipped out and grabbed the Kagirinai Buyou from its resting spot on the arena wall before pulling it back to Naruto's right hand as he slowly fell after Gaara. The blond began spinning the blade in his hand as he dropped into the smoke and sand still obscuring everyone's view of the arena floor. There was a loud thud that everyone assumed was Gaara landing before the boy screamed and the sound of a blade cutting into something rang out across the arena.

"GAARA!" Temari screamed. While the red head was terrifying, he was still her little brother and she cared for him. She was about to grab her fan and fly down when Kankuro grabbed her from behind to restrain her. "LET ME GO!"

"Damnit Temari! I'm worried about him too but I'm not going to run down there and get killed!"

"Shut up!" She shouted as tears welled in her eyes. "He… he… he killed…" The girl sobbed, unable to bring herself to say it while off to the other side Sasuke and Sakura were staring down at the smoke waiting for it to clear.

"Do you really think he…?" Sakura muttered and Sasuke shook his head.

"I don't know. I hope not."

"M-maybe he lost control and did?"

"No… he said he could control three. It was four that he lost himself." Sasuke reminded her as she nodded. The raven haired boy still had his Sharingan up so he tried to look down but couldn't see through the smoke and the only chakra he could see was Naruto's as it was currently so large that it blotted everything else out. "Damnit Naruto… what did you do?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

The crowd was in shock at the ending of the match, especially the more intelligent Shinobi. The Suna and hidden Oto ninja were all wondering about how the invasion plan would work now. Gaara was their trump card and while the fight was hard and long fought, Konoha's jinchuriki had managed to defeat the boy at full power. Not only that but the boy could still keep fighting thanks to the demon he had fueling him. The Konoha Shinobi on the other hand were worrying about possible fallout. While killing was allowed and expected in the Exams, one jinchuriki killing another, especially when the other was the Kazekage's son, was unexpected and brought up problems. Would Suna demand compensation? Could they call for Naruto's death? Would the village give in if they did?

Kakashi in particular was staring down at the arena with wide eyes, as he had uncovered his Sharingan the second Gaara had released a full transformation. "Naruto…"

"To beat a biju all by his lonesome…" Gai muttered as he stood as shocked as Kakashi. "There aren't many that can make that claim outside of the Sandaime Raikage and Konoha's founders Hashirama-sama and Uchiha Madara." Kakashi nodded his head as he understood just how monumental it was that Naruto had single-handedly defeated the Ichibi on his own. While the biju was considered the weakest of its kin, it was still also considered an S-rank challenge to beat.

"I never really noticed how much he's really improved." Kakashi mused as he kept his eyes on the smoke. "He's come so far from the knucklehead that only graduated early due to luck. I'm really proud of him." Gai nodded at Kakashi's words with a small smile. The boy truly had come far.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Genma coughed as the smoke finally began to clear enough for him to see. Waving a hand in front of his face he narrowed his eyes and looked towards the silhouettes. One was glowing a bright red and the other was lying motionless on the ground. He gave it a few more seconds to clear more before he gasped at the sight, which was echoed by the crowd above. Naruto was standing above Gaara, his three-tailed chakra cloak still covering him and the tails flowing behind him as if they were real living tails. Below him was Gaara. The red head was motionless, his eyes wide as he stared at the blade Naruto was holding.

The blade stabbed into the ground less than a centimeter from Gaara's neck.

Gaara was alive, that much was certain which instantly dispelled any thoughts of political backlash from Naruto killing him. However though Gaara was alive, the slightest twitch of his head or Naruto's hands could change that. As such he was motionless from fear. Naruto's face was blank as he gazed down at the Suna genin. It betrayed none of his thoughts or feelings on the matter. Gaara didn't understand it so he finally voiced his question.

"Why?" He asked. At Naruto's continued silence he continued. "Why spare me? I would not have in your position." Naruto stayed silent longer before lowering his face from view.

"**It hurts, doesn't it?"**

"What?"

"**The pain. The loneliness. How everyone glares at you and hates you for something out of your control. How they fear you as if you were the demon you carry. It all hurts, right?" **Naruto asked as the chakra of the Kyuubi faded away and he returned to normal. "To be honest, you frightened me at first. Not because of your skills or status. No, you scared me because I saw me in you." Gaara was silent as Naruto spoke. In fact everyone in the arena was silent as Naruto spoke. "I'm hated, just like you. I've been attacked, just like you. And the only difference between us is that you fought back. I've always just let it go, trying to change opinions of me through my actions and not violence. But you fought back, and eventually came to the belief that killing is all that matters. That scared me. That really scared me because I couldn't help but think; what if I had fought back? Just once, what if I had decided to fight back and kill my tormentors. Would I have turned out just like you?" Naruto asked. "We're so similar in so many ways and yet so different. Both of us are jinchuriki because of the actions of our Yondaime's. Our own fathers sealed demons into us, in your case for a weapon but in mine to save the village from destruction." Naruto admitted, though nobody missed his slip of the tongue and many among the crowd gasped.

His own father sealed the demon into him? His father? That was the Yondaime Hokage though so it couldn't be, could it? He did look a lot like the Yondaime. He was also extremely skilled like the man was an apparently even knew his signature attack jutsu. Many of Konoha's Shinobi and civilians were beginning to pale at the realization that Naruto truly was the son of their hero. And then they paled further at the extra realization that came with it; they had hated and in most cases attacked the son of their greatest hero.

Naruto continued, unknowing of the turmoil in the crowd above him. "Both of us grew up hated and feared because of our demons. Both of us, alone against the world. You started fighting back though while I didn't. I think… I think I probably would have though… had I not met them."

"Them?" Gaara asked, entrapped by Naruto's tale. He could see the similarities the boy pointed out so he was wondering just why Naruto was not like him.

"My old teammates, Inuzuka Koji and Sakuya." Naruto told him. "They accepted me for who I was. They laughed with me, had fun with me, they _acknowledged _me. With them I wasn't Uzumaki Naruto, hated pariah of the village. With them I was just Uzumaki Naruto, their friend and comrade. Koji ended up becoming an elder brother to me, his parents accepting me and even treating me like their own. And Sakuya was an orphan like me, so we connected and grew closer from the struggles we had. In the end though, Koji gave his life to save mine without a second thought. And then Sakuya did right after. That broke me. I lost myself to Kyuubi for the first time and tore through every Iwa Shinobi I saw in my rage. In fact I almost let the demon out, just to make the pain stop. But I was stopped by an imprint my father left in my seal. He told me things and returned me to normal, but even he couldn't bring them back. I almost lashed out and became like you are again. But my sensei Kakashi stopped me. He was my anchor to reality, he kept me out of that darkness. And then Sasuke and Sakura were placed with me. At first I hated them. I wanted nothing to do with them, wanting them to just leave me and sensei alone. But they didn't. They stuck around and I got to know them. Now they're friends. Whether they knew it or not they drew me back from what I was heading into." Naruto finished before looking up and meeting Gaara's eyes. "That's what made me realize over the month as I trained to face you. That's the reason I never ended up like you. Because when I was lost, when I was about to give up and give into the hate; I had friends that stopped me and showed me the way."

"Friends?"

"That's right. You said it's only by fighting and caring for yourself that your strong. I don't believe that. I believe that it's by fighting and caring for others you're strong. That's how I beat you. Because I have people who were counting on me to win there was no way I could lose to you, whose all alone in the world."

"But I don't have anyone…" Gaara stated as Naruto nodded.

"I know, but that can change if you try. I'd start with those siblings of yours. They stuck with you this entire time, so I'll bet they care for you to some extent. Start with them, then work on more. Find some friends, some people to bring light to your darkness. I know you could do it. After all, I did." The blond finished as he pulled the Kagirinai Buyou out of the ground and sealed it into his glove once more before walking away.

"Winner! Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!" Genma shouted out as the blond left the arena and medics came forward to see to Gaara. "We will now take a ten minute break to give the contestants time to recuperate."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Up in the Kage booth Sarutobi had a proud smile on his face as he watched Naruto leave. Whether he knew it or not the boy was a living testament to the 'Will of Fire' he believed kept Konoha safe. He was drawn from his musings as the Kazekage spoke up next to him.

"Is it true what he said? Is he really the son of your Yondaime?" He asked and Sarutobi frowned as he remembered Naruto had just let that secret out. Had he meant to do that? Or was it just a slip of the tongue?

"…Yes." Hiruzen relented as he knew the daimyos and lords had also heard that. It wasn't going to stay secret for much longer so it was better to accept it and try to smooth over the acceptance of the news rather than try to hide it. "Naruto-kun is the son of Namikaze Minato."

"I… see." Orochimaru mused as he thought about the boy. _'Now I truly must have him in my grasp. Kyuubi's might combined with Minato's jutsu is too good to pass up!' _He thought before motioning for one of his guards. The man came up and knelt over so Orochimaru whispered his orders. "When I give the signal, order some of our men to capture the jinchuriki alive at all costs. I don't care how many but both him and Sasuke-kun must be mine by the end of the day."

"It will be done my lord."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Naruto…" Sakura called as the blond walked into the room. He looked up and was about to walk over to them but was cut off by Temari first. The blond boy tensed but then was shocked when the girl bowed to him.

"Thank you for not killing my brother. And thank you, for helping him." She said as she stayed down. Naruto just scratched a cheek and looked off to the side.

"It… it was nothing. I just wanted to help." Temari stood up and he saw that she had a teary smile on her face. She then went past him, no doubt to check on her brother before her next match as Kankuro just nodded and went after her. The blond walked over to his teammates.

"Naruto…" Sakura started again before smiling. "Good job out there."

"Thanks."

"So… son of the Yondaime huh?" Sasuke asked as Naruto's eyes widened as he realized he let his parentage slip out. "Don't worry, it doesn't change anything between us. You're still the same angry blond as before."

"Sasuke-kun be nice!" Sakura scolded as he just rolled his eyes in response.

"Thank you." They turned back to see Naruto looking down with a small smile.

"Well come on, what're friends for?" Sakura stated with a smile.

"If you won't treat me any different for being the 'Last Uchiha' then why should I treat you differently cause your old man's a Kage?' Sasuke joked with a grin of his own.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Kakashi did you-"

"Yes Gai, I did." The man interrupted. "I was under orders not to talk about it but I've known since I first laid eyes on the boy. I couldn't even tell him until after the disaster Iwa became." He explained with a shrug. "That imprint of his father he mentioned was apparently extremely angry at Sandaime-sama for hiding his heritage in the first place. Something about hiding that but not his status as a container was nothing but a fool's move. I was only let off the hook because I was so busy in ANBU I couldn't viably take care of him when he was younger but Sandaime-sama and Jiraiya-sama weren't let off so easily. He still cares for the Sandaime as a grandfather but it's only recently he's stopped snapping at every decision the man makes. Jiraiya-sama though is on thin ice, even though he's training him occasionally on the side." Kakashi looked at Gai as he pulled his headband back down to cover his implanted eye. "When Naruto first met the man he actually attacked him and wanted nothing to do with him. But Jiraiya-sama kept at it, he was determined to make up for his mistakes so the man just kept trying to connect with Naruto until the boy relented. Jiraiya-sama trains him a bit when he has the chance and Naruto hasn't snapped at him for a while but there's tension between the two."

"I see." Gai nodded as he then put a hand on his friends shoulder and smiled. "Well, I believe you are extremely lucky to have the boy. Now why don't you go and congratulate him? We've got time before the next round." Kakashi nodded as he left and Gai looked back towards the arena.

"Gai-sensei, I must train harder! I must be able to match Naruto's flames of youth!" The man's mini-me stated as Gai grinned and nodded.

"That you will Lee! As soon as the exams are over we shall get to work so that you can match such youthful flames!"

"Gai-sensei!

"Lee!"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Gaara…" Temari started as she walked up to her brother. The red head was lying in a bed with his injuries bandaged up. The boy turned his head to glance at his sister and following brother before going back to staring at the ceiling like he ad been before they entered. The Ichibi jinchuriki had been lost in his own thoughts while the beast within him had quieted down from its rage a couple minutes ago. He could still hear mutterings about bastard foxes and filthy blondes but it was no longer screaming about it at him. "Are you alright?" Temari asked as she took a seat next to Gaara. The boy was silent as she sat down while thinking in his head about what to do now.

"…_I'd start with those siblings of yours. They stuck with you this entire time, so I'll bet they care for you to some extent…"_

"Temari." Gaara started as Naruto's words echoed in his head. "Do I frighten you?" He asked as he looked to her. The girl fidgeted under his gaze and looked down.

"Yes."

"I see… And you Kankuro?" Gaara asked as the boy silently nodded. Gaara closed his eyes and sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"We still care for you Gaara." Temari said, getting his attention. "You scare us a bit but we still love you. You're our brother, and that'll never change." She told him as she nervously reached out and grasped his hand. When his sand defense didn't activate and he didn't pull away she smiled. "We've just wanted to help you." The red head stared at their hands before looking up to her face and closing his eyes.

"Temari, Kankuro… I'm sorry."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Good job Naruto." Kakashi congratulated as he walked into the waiting area to see his students chatting away while Shino waited off to the side. The three faced him as Naruto smiled.

"Thanks sensei."

"Sasuke, that was a good use of lightning to numb Lee. And it's nice to see you perfected the one handed seals you spent the month working on." He praised as the boy just smirked. "And Sakura, excellent use of misdirection in your fight. And nice weapon." The girl smiled before he continued. "Even if it is pink."

"What is wrong with pink?!" She shouted as they chuckled at her outburst. "Seriously! That's getting annoying! What's wrong with pink?"

"Well imagine you're a big bad Shinobi and then the enemy comes up and attacks you with something pink." Naruto proposed as the girl growled. "Not very intimidating is it?"

"Well it doesn't have to be intimidating if it works! Besides, I can always use my genjutsu to give them a scare if I really need to!" She shot back as he shrugged.

"Still doesn't change the fact that it's girly." Sasuke remarked before she rounded on him.

"And I'm a girl! Where's the damn problem if my weapon is pink?!" She shouted while Kakashi waved her down.

"There's no problem Sakura, we're just teasing you a bit." The girl huffed and turned away as Naruto grinned and Sasuke smirked at her anger. "Anyways, I came down to congratulate you three on such good matches. And for something else…" He started before turning to Naruto. "Naruto, did you mean to reveal your jinchuriki status to people who didn't know what the term meant?"

"Yeah…" He answered as he looked down. "People hate the container as if we were the demons themselves and the people who don't know what a jinchuriki is just hear the biased bullshit about how we're evil and monsters so they come to hate and fear us too. I figured if I said what a jinchuriki was then the uninformed in the crowd could make their own opinions on us without hearing all the hate."

"Okay. That's your choice Naruto so I won't argue it. However, revealing your father's identity is another story. You know that was supposed to be secret until you reached the rank of jonin." He admonished as Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah… about that… that was accidental." The jonin gave him a flat look as he explained. "I was just caught up from the adrenaline and Kyuubi's chakra flowing through me that I wasn't really focusing too much on the specifics about what I was saying. I didn't even notice I let that slip until I was halfway up the stairs back here. Then I did and I realized that it was too late to change it so I just accepted it. Besides, the original reason my heritage was hidden was to prevent my father's enemies from sending assassins after me. But I'm strong enough to defend myself from them now so what's the harm?" The jonin sighed as he ran a hand over his face.

"You have a point there. But how about the political backlash?"

"Huh?"

"Now that it's revealed you're the son of the Yondaime, you're pretty much the Shinobi equivalent to royalty. Plus you're the last known Uzumaki making you a clan heir like Sasuke unless you find another one with a closer tie to the leading family of the Uzumaki's than you. Which will be near impossible since Kushina's uncle was apparently the head. You'd have to find a direct son or daughter of that man to take your spot as heir." Kakashi explained but Naruto shrugged with a confused look.

"So? What's that mean for me beside people in the village trying to kiss my ass like they do his?" He asked as he jabbed a thumb at Sasuke who simply grunted since it was true.

"It means politics Naruto. You're going to be forced into learning how to run and operate your clan holdings, how to maneuver yourself in discussions with other clans, and how to make vital decisions that will affect both yourself and others for the betterment of both parties." He explained as Naruto frowned. "There's also the fact that lots of lords and daimyos may try to get you into an arranged marriage with their daughters." Kakashi fired out quickly and Naruto paled.

"What was that last part Kakashi?" He asked as Sakura was snickering into her hand and Sasuke shivered as he knew he would likely go through something similar eventually.

"Possible attempts at putting you into… ahem… arranged marriages?" The man put out and Naruto nodded with a deceptively calm face despite being pale white.

"I… I see. I'm pretty much screwed aren't I?" Kakashi nodded and the boy took a deep breath before letting out and closing his eyes. "Fuck."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Gaara!" Baki called out as he rushed into the room where the Kazekage's kids were. "How are you feeling?" He asked and the boy nodded from his place on the bed.

"I will be fine."

"Do you think you could still do your part in the invasion?" Baki asked and Temari gasped.

"You can't honestly expect him to still do that! Konoha's jinchuriki beat him at full power and is still strong enough to do it again, even if Gaara could go out and fight." Kankuro nodded in agreement with his sister while Baki ignored them and focused on Gaara.

"I can barely feel my chakra so I cannot fight." The boy admitted before continuing. "And after what Uzumaki said to me I do not believe I would partake in the invasion even if I could."

"But Gaara! You're the trump card to the entire plan!"

"A trump that has already been beaten. I cannot and will not fight for the reasons I have stated. The plan will have to either be stopped or go on without me." Gaara stated with finality making Baki growl but storm out of the room without a word.

"Gaara, did you really mean that?" Temari asked and the boy nodded.

"Uzumaki showed me how wrong I was before. I would not repay him for helping me by destroying his home."

Outside the room though Baki met up with Kabuto. "He's out of chakra to perform. Plus after that blond talked to him and beat him he says he wouldn't have done it anyway." Baki growled out. "Now what? The entire invasion hinged on him transforming and going wild in the village."

"We didn't want to use it but we do have a pack-up plan in case Gaara couldn't perform his part." The Oto spy mused with a sigh. "It can't be helped. I'll set up the preparations for the back up. You ensure your men are ready to continue as planned."

"Alright."

"The signal is the start of Sasuke's next match."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"I see." Orochimaru mused as word was brought to him that Gaara couldn't participate in the invasion. It was regrettable but Orochimaru had considered the possibility that the boy would fail to beat Naruto and had planned for it. "Then have our men ready him for deployment." The man whispered as his Shinobi nodded and stepped back to give out the orders.

"Something the matter Kazekage-dono?" Sarutobi asked as Orochimaru shook his head.

"No, merely word on how my son Gaara is doing."

"I see. I'm sure you must be feeling terrible about his defeat."

'_More than you know sensei.' _The man thought before shaking his head again. "It's nothing much really. He is alive and as such can take this experience and learn from it to grow stronger. Besides, I still have my daughter's match to look forward to." The man mused as he kept up his façade of being the real ruler of Sunagakure. "Though in a three way match against the young jinchuriki and his teammate, I'll admit it seems a bit unfair." Sarutobi chuckled lightly with a nod.

"That was not intentional, I assure you." He stated lightly before continuing. "But yes, not only are Naruto-kun and Sakura likely to double team her, the boy alone would likely be more than enough for either girl."

"And then we have the upcoming match of the Uchiha and the Aburame. I believe the winner there is just as clear cut."

"I'm inclined to agree with you but I know Shino may have a trick or two up his sleeve." Sarutobi chuckled again as they watched to two boys walk out to the arena floor. "But we shall see, won't we?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Before we begin Uchiha-san, may I ask you a question?" Shino asked as he and Sasuke walked towards Genma at the center of the arena. Sasuke nodded so the Aburame continued. "Naruto-san; when I first saw him I wasn't sure what to think of him. His frigid attitude towards everyone but yourself and Sakura-san in addition to his threatening of Kiba, though he deserved it, left me simply believing him to be a threat. But then his actions in the preliminaries to rescue my teammate Hinata changed that to an ally. However the revelation that he is the son of a Kage and carries a demon within him much like my clan each carries swarms of our insects has left me wondering; just what is Naruto-san?" Sasuke was silent for a second before shrugging.

"He's a guy with a grudge against Iwa and a loyalty streak to Konoha higher than the moon. He's something of a knucklehead at times and at other times he seems like the smartest guy I know. He wants respect and for people to leave him alone but at the same time he wants to help everyone he comes across so they never have to go through what he did. Literally I think he's just a walking contradiction." The Uchiha snorted at his own words and shook his head. "Despite that I can't help but trust him to watch my back on missions or to just ignore someone that asks for help. He may not make sense but he's a friend, and that's all that matters to me." Shino nodded his head as Genma smirked as the two.

"Ready to start the show back up?" He asked as the two nodded and he raised a hand. "Alright then. The second round of matches start now! Uchiha Sasuke versus Aburame Shino! Hajime!" He called however before Shino or Sasuke could do anything a large explosion occurred up in the Kage booth while the crowd fell asleep due to a genjutsu. The Suna and Oto ninja knew what to expect and reacted immediately by rising from their seats and attacking the Konoha Shinobi while they did their best to throw off the illusion and fight back. Sasuke and Shino gasped while Genma narrowed his eyes. "New plan; you two hook with your jonin sensei's in the stands and get orders from them. Go!" The man ordered before running into the battle himself. Sasuke and Shino exchanged nods before bugs began to leak out of the Aburame and the Uchiha grasped his blade.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"What the hell is going on?" Sakura asked as she ran after Naruto, the blond heading up to the stands to find Kakashi.

"It looks like an invasion of some sort by Suna and Oto!" Naruto shouted back as he unsealed the Kagirinai Buyou from his glove and began spinning it in his right hand. "Damn! We told Hokage-jiji that Orochimaru attacked us and that the Oto genin seemed to call him -sama so we knew he was connected to the village somehow! I just didn't think he could muster their army for something like this. And why the hell is Suna attacking? Aren't we allies?" The boy wondered out loud as he and Sakura rushed out into the stands and saw Oto and Suna jonin attacking anyone with a Konoha headband or that fought back. Naruto spun his weapon in front of himself as he leapt in front of Sakura to deflect the kunai and shuriken that flew at them.

"Thanks Naruto!" She called out before making hand-signs and stepping forward and clapping. "Magen: Oto Katawa (Sound Distortion)!" She called out as many of the nearby enemy ninja collapsed holding their ears as they suddenly felt themselves go deaf while they felt disoriented to the point that they couldn't stand. The girl grinned and took a few deep breaths as Naruto stepped forward. "It's what I used in my match. But hitting so many targets at once without targeting allies or bystanders is kind of hard." She admitted while the Konoha Shinobi swooped in to strike the disoriented and possibly deaf enemies. Naruto spotted Kakashi with his Sharingan out locking kunai with a Suna jonin so the boy ran forward and spun his blade before slipping behind the enemy and stabbing him in the back.

"Thanks Naruto. Where's Sakura?" He asked as the girl ran up. Before he could even open his mouth to ask Sasuke landed next to them, some blood on the edge of his sword while he nodded to his sensei. "Good, you're all here. Now listen. Naruto; you have the most combat experience and are overall far stronger than any genin has a right to be. I want you to head into the village and take out any attackers you come across. Feel free to use the Kyuubi as needed but don't go higher than two tails. I don't want a stray attack actually affecting you at three and making you slip into the fourth." The boy nodded and took off, his blade spinning and gauntlet ignited as he took out anyone in his path to leave the stadium for the village. "Sakura, I want you to start leading civilians out with the other genin under the cover of your genjutsu. Sasuke, you and the stronger genin are to protect them with your lives. Understand?"

"Hai sensei!"

"Then get going!" He ordered as he ran off to engage more enemy Shinobi, the other jonin joining him. The other genin had been given orders similar to the two of them so they quickly started helping by waking the civilians little by little and covering them from danger as they fought of any that tried to attack them. Meanwhile the jonin were covering them as they did by assaulting and killing the Oto and Suna ninja that tried to lay a hand on them.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"What's the meaning of this Kazekage-dono?!" Sarutobi demanded as Orochimaru held him around the throat with a kunai from behind. After his servants had set off the explosives to distract and attack the jonin guards the old Kage had Orochimaru had grabbed him in the confusion and leapt to the roof where his men followed and set up a barrier to keep others out.

"Oh you mean you haven't figured it all out yet?" The man taunted as he tore off the false face he was wearing. "Sensei…"

"Orochimaru!" The Sannin chuckled but then leapt back while still staring at Sarutobi with his trademark smirk. "So you really are the leader of Oto, just as I feared." He muttered as he looked around and saw large snake summons start breaking down the walls of the village and going through to rampage in the village itself. "And what happened to the Kazekage then?"

"Oh he had a little run in with death. Much like you will Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru chuckled as he threw off his disguise to reveal himself in his usual attire of a tan top and purple rope acting as a belt. The man then held open his mouth as a snaked slithered out of it and spit out a sword. The snake then retreated back down as Orochimaru held the blade with a grin. "For you see sensei, this sword has a bad little habit of killing people."

"It is but a tool being used to fuel the master's evil ambitions." Sarutobi admonished while he threw off his Kage robes to reveal he had worn his armor underneath as a precaution for the day. "But let me guess at your plans here. You plan on attempting to destroy what was once the home you loved so much. And not only that but I'm sure you likely have a team or two in place to try and abduct young Sasuke so that you may finally claim the Sharingan as your own." The man chuckled so the Hokage knew he was right. "You always were too interested in the Uchiha bloodline."

"Not just the precious dojutsu of the Uchiha but I have a second target as well." The Sannin admitted as the Hokage narrowed his eyes. "Minato's living legacy and the jinchuriki to the mightiest of the biju." Hiruzen's eyes went wide as Orochimaru continued. "Can you imagine it? All that power under my command? In fact I think I could probably get him willingly. I know how you've been trying to get him to give up his hatred of Iwa. What if I were to instead offer him help in wiping them off the map?"

"You will keep you hands off my genin Orochimaru." The Kage growled out as the Sannin laughed.

"Genin? Oh no, not after today. I believe the Uchiha would be fine as a chunin under my control and as for little Naruto? Well, even you must admit he's already a jonin level Shinobi. After all, even I would have trouble taking down a biju like he did." Sarutobi growled but silently admitted that the man was right. Win or lose, live or die; as long as Konoha itself stood those two especially would be getting promotions to the next rank after their stellar performances in the Exams regardless of his fate. "Now what do you say we get started sensei? I believe in Naruto-kun's case a personal touch of strength will be needed to recruit him."

"I will never let you lay a finger on my Shinobi Orochimaru! I will stop you here!"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere)!" Naruto called out as he slammed a Suna jonin with the ball of chakra. He didn't spare a glance as the ninja was blasted off and died, instead spinning to the side to avoid the katana slash a sword using Oto jonin attacked with. Twisting his wrist, he spun the Kagirinai Buyou around and decapitated the man without a word. The blond stopped and took a moment to take in his surroundings. He had been going through the residential district and attacking the enemy Shinobi he came across as they tried to kill innocents. Naruto quickly put a stop to that by attacking them with clones to get their attention and ordering the civilians to run to the shelters. Only a few actually glared at him as most were just happy to be rescued. However that's when the Shinobi finished dealing with his clones and turned on the real Naruto. Surprisingly though one of the Oto jonin remarked that he was to be captured alive if possible. Luckily Naruto need to share that restraint.

"Damn him!" A Kunoichi yelled as she tossed shuriken at him that were batted aside with ease. "He's just one guy!"

"And?" Naruto remarked as red chakra began to spiral out of him. His eyes turned red and his whiskers thickened as the one tailed version of his chakra cloak formed around him. **"You do know what jinchuriki are meant to be don't you? We're army killers. And that's something I'm already an old hand at. Don't you people know why I'm the in the Bingo Book already?" **Naruto taunted as the gauntlet erupted into flame and he began spinning the Kagirinai Buyou with his chakra so that it was a saw floating next to his hand, leaving the appendage actually open for a Rasengan to form over his empty palm. **"So come on! If you want me then come and get me!"**

* * *

><p><strong>Omake - <strong>Fox and Snake 3

It had been three weeks since Anko had introduced herself to Naruto at the ramen stand and Kakashi could honestly say he was seeing some improvement. The woman was actually able to get the boy to smile occasionally, which was something he had not been able to do since Koji or Sakuya were alive. The three were walking down the street after having a training session that Anko had been invited to and the woman had a grin on her face while Naruto had on the barest of smiles. They were stopped though when an ANBU dropped down. "My apologies, but Hokage-sama needs to see Hatake-san immediately."

"All right. I'll see you two later then." The man lazily told them before following the ANBU out. Anko just shrugged before turning back to Naruto.

"Well squirt, how about some dinner at my place? I'll cook."

"I didn't know you could cook Anko." Naruto remarked but followed the woman anyways as she led him to her apartment.

"Eh, it's not one of my better skills but it beats having to waste money everyday."

"Like you do on dango?" Naruto asked dryly as she gave him a blank look.

"Like you do on ramen?"

"Touché." The boy admitted as the two walked into her home. It was surprisingly clean for someone with Anko's reputation to have but the blond didn't comment on it. As he walked through he saw a few pictures on the walls, not as many as he had but just a few, mostly of her hanging out with a Kunoichi that had red eyes and black hair and another purple haired woman with a sword. "Who're these two?"

"Huh?" Anko asked as she glanced at the wall where he was looking and she just shrugged. "A couple buddies of mine. The red eyed one is Yuhi Kurenai and the other is Uzuki Yuugao. Nai-chan's going for jonin in a couple weeks and Yuu-chan's an ANBU captain like your sensei used to be." The woman told him so he nodded and kept looking around while she went into the kitchen. However he eventually came across a shelf that strangely had a picture of Sakuya as well as a silver bracelet. Naruto narrowed his eyes before recognizing the jewelry as the same one Sakuya had always worn until that day she came crying to him before the Exams. He had asked but the girl he loved had never told him what happened to the bracelet, just that she didn't want it anymore. "So gaki, you okay with…" Anko trailed off as she came back and saw where Naruto was staring before looking to the side.

"Why do you have this? Where did you get it?" Naruto asked before facing her, a very cold look in his eyes. "And why is there a picture of her next to it?!" The fact a picture was there old him that she knew who it belonged to before she had it. And that's why Naruto was angry. Anko knew who it belonged to and she had it. Did she take it from Sakuya? Did she steal it and simply want to remember who she got it from?

"That's a… long story Naruto." Anko started before sighing and taking a seat on her couch. "The short version is that Sakuya gave it to me because she didn't want it anymore."

"And why would she give it to you?" Naruto asked as he already knew she didn't want it, he just never knew why she suddenly stopped wanting it. "She told me once that it was the only thing with her besides a paper with her name when she was apparently left on the orphanage doorstep. That bracelet was a gift from one of her parents that she never knew or met. Why would she suddenly not want it and give it to you?" He demanded as the woman sighed.

"Because she hated it once she found out who her mother was that gave it to her." Naruto froze as took that it. Sakuya had learned who her mother was, wouldn't that have been a good thing? He had recently learned who his parents were due in part to his father actually appearing to him in the seal. He had then learned about his mother after returning to Konoha and confronting the Sandaime about his heritage and tearing into the man over lying to him all those years. He still hadn't forgiven him for that honestly.

"Why would she hate her mother?" Naruto asked quietly, his rage at Anko having Sakuya's bracelet starting to go away.

"Because I'm her mother." Only for it to start coming right back. "The father was some guy I had just had a drunken fling with and at the time I was just a chunin who was in over her head with life normally. How was I expected to raise a child? So I took the cowards way out and left her at the orphanage with the bracelet and ran. I kept an eye on her, checked up on her over the years, but I could never bring myself to confront her and claim her as my daughter." Anko explained, not noticing how Naruto's fists were starting to shake. "When I heard she became a genin I went and checked up on her and was proud of the skill she showed. And then I heard she was nominated to the Chunin Exams. I had gotten a little drunk that morning so against my better judgment I decided to confront her, actually meet my daughter face-to-face for the first time since she was a day old. At first things were fine, it was just an older Kunoichi congratulating the younger on doing so well and stuff but then I took the plunge so to speak. I told her of our connection and she didn't believe me at first. She thought I must be getting too drunk, but then I went and described how I was the one who bought that bracelet the day I left her and how I had been keeping watch over her from the background all her life. She stared at me, taking it in before screaming at me and throwing the bracelet in my face and running away. I… I knew I fucked up. I just took it and vowed I'd just go back to watching over her from a distance. And then she died. Died to save you." The woman let out a bitter laugh as Naruto took a shaky step towards her. "You know, when I first heard that I actually hated you for a second? I never had any right to claim her as my daughter after everything but I still actually hated you for a second for living while she died. Then I calmed down and thought about how stupid that was and what you must've been going through so I let it go." Anko shook her head before glancing up at Naruto just in time to get a flaming left hook to the face that sent her through the wall and into the street. "What the hell?"

"You heartless bitch!" Naruto shouted as he jumped out after her and swung at her with his gauntlet covered hand again. Anko dodged but Naruto was relentless and began swinging wildly at her even as civilians ran from the area screaming and some Shinobi came, a few going to get Kakashi and the Hokage as they were the only ones that could truly control Naruto while others tried to stop the boy, just for him to dodge their attempts and continue his charge at Anko. "Do you know what it's like to be alone all your life? Having to struggle for everything just for something you may never get? And then finding out it's been hiding right behind you the entire time?"

"Yes!" Anko shouted as she ducked under another swing and launched her snakes at the boy to restrain him but Naruto merely lit them aflame and kept charging her.

"And yet you're so heartless you'd force your own daughter through that?!" The blond shouted getting Anko to go wide-eyed and freeze as he tackled her. Even the other Shinobi that were trying to restrain the boy froze at what he said about Anko. The woman had a daughter? Since when? Naruto pinned the woman down before he punched her across the face with his right and then his left, swinging wildly back and forth as Anko didn't even bother putting up a defense. The boy was quickly kicked off of her before being restrained by multiple tree branches and shadows from an ANBU and the Nara two members nearby. Naruto struggled in his restraints while glaring at Anko the entire time.

"Naruto! Calm down!" Kakashi shouted as he knelt in front of the boy but he was ignored.

"I never want to see you again you fucking bitch! If you ever come near me, I'll kill you!" Kakashi went wide-eyed at Naruto's declaration while the Hokage looked down at Anko, wondering what she had done to earn such a fierce reaction from the boy. With a sigh Kakashi uncovered his eye and grabbed Naruto to focus the boy on him before using his eye to forcibly put the boy to sleep, everyone relaxing once he was out.

"Anko… what happened?" The jonin asked as the woman wiped some blood from her mouth but left the tears Naruto's words had brought alone.

"I think it'd be better said in private."


	20. 20

**Guest: **That will happen when I finally have the two start getting together. Naruto was in love with Sakuya and even though she's gone he still feels very devoted to her so that'll become a conflict when he starts to fall for Hinata. Also, just because I revealed the heritage doesn't mean it will be a harem. I won't write harems as I feel they are degrading to women mostly. The closest I'll do is multiple girls liking one guy but in the end that guy is still only getting one girl while the rest will be dealt with in a realistic way.

**RoboticTy: **I actually haven't done anything with Hiashi yet other than what canon confirmed for him, which was that he was very hard on Hinata and focused more on Hanabi while neglecting and ignoring her. As such I pretty much have a clean slate to twist him how I want. Whether he's the evil scheming clan head or the caring one restricted by rules and obligations hasn't been decided yet.

**Mellral: **I haven't decided on the next Omake yet. I could do Jiraiya's first interaction with Naruto or I could show what happened after Naruto's attack on Iwa. I could also go back and show more from Naruto's time with Koji and Sakuya. That's the greatness of Omakes, they can be funny little one-shots or actual story portions from when and where ever the author pleases.

**bioniclemaster: **My posting varies with my muse. Recently I got a laptop so I've been posting two to four chapters a week but to be hones that's because now that I can type more I've been getting all my ideas out right away. I also jump from story to story without notice. I could update this one ten chapters in a row and then never touch it until I complete an entirely different story. My muse is sporadic so I can't say anything about my posting times because I'm not sure about them. I can safely say though that I will be updating at least once a week for the foreseeable future though, mainly because I have lots of chapters to other stories already written up and ready to post. But that won't last forever.

**Authors Note: **Wow. More people had stuff to say about the Omake than they did about the actual chapter. First off, yes I upped Anko's age since her canon age would have been very disturbing to have a daughter Sakuya's age. Anko had Sakuya in her late teens in this story and is currently in her mid thirties. But now as for everything else the biggest thing I got was how shocking it was. I'm guessing that's more because people were expecting Anko to be her canon age than anything because I feel that with the way I wrote people would've had an idea about it for a while. But I guess that's more because I'm the one who had it all thought up and planned out so apparently not.

Also to note is that the Invasion is being done entirely in this chapter, mainly because outside of Naruto's part this chapter refused to be written. I had the basic outline of Naruto's fight in the Invasion all planned out so it only took a bit of work to write that up. No it was mostly the Hokage's fight that was killing me. I knew what I wanted the outcome to be but that was it. The rest refused to come together. Eventually I got what I did but I'm still not satisfied with it. Maybe one day I'll come back and rewrite it but for now, that's all I got. Even after that though the chapter was kind of short but I suddenly had the idea for the scene at the end with Sasuke and Sakura as well as Jiraiya so I tacked that on here rather than opening the next chapter with it. So despite my rather lackluster Invasion, I hope you all still enjoy the chapter.

**20 - **Burn it Down

"**Hitsume (Fire Claw)**!" Naruto shouted as he swung his clawed left arm down and sent out a wave of fire the consumed the Oto jonin that had tried to charge him with a kunai. Seeing as that was the last jonin of the group that had tried to capture him the blond let go of the Kyuubi's power and returned to normal, breathing heavily due to the exhaustion setting in from the days events. Fighting Gaara, and his biju in the same match, and now running through the village to kill any invaders and rescue any trapped civilians; it was starting to take its toll on the whiskered jinchuriki. The boy took a few moments to catch his breath as he was panting in the center of the street from everything he had done and he let out a groan at everything left for him to do. "Come on Naruto…" He muttered out loud. "You're not done yet…"

With a slightly pained grimaced the powerhouse genin stood up straight and looked around for any sign of danger before leaping to the roof of a nearby building. Looking around the blond grit his teeth in anger at what was happening. Atop a roof next to the arena was a large purple square that if he focused on it he could see the Hokage battling Orochimaru within it. He had yet to see Kakashi so he assumed the man was either still in the arena protecting civilians or had run off to another portion of the city to fight. A large crashing noise drew his attention as he whipped his head over to the village's southern walls and saw a large three headed snake break through the stone construct that stood sentinel around Konoha. With a growl the blond was about to rush over to stop it when two more crashed were heard and he turned to see two more smaller snakes, though still huge and larger than buildings, crash through two more separate areas of the village's walled defense.

"Damn it…" He growled before seeing a giant light blue toad crash down on one of the smaller snakes with a man hopping around on its head. The blond shook his head in disgust at what he knew to be his godfather and his antics. "The whole village is going to hell and you still won't stop your idiotic little dance? And you wonder why I still don't respect you as a person…" He muttered before running towards the large three headed snake. He had work to do.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Resurrection)!" Orochimaru called out as he slammed his palms together and finished the hand signs his jutsu required. Sarutobi gasped and tossed a shuriken before whipping through hand signs of his own in response.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)!" He shouted as the one metal star duplicated itself into an entire wall of spinning metal. Orochimaru just grinned as a wooden coffin came up on his right side with the kanji for 'one' on it as another came up on his left with the kanji for 'two'. Ducking behind the wood to protect himself the Sannin waited until the stars all impacted the coffins before he got out from behind his spot and the two coffins opened up. Stepping out of the coffin were two men, their pale skin covered in cracks to show their status as living corpses.

The one on the right and long dark black hair and wore red samurai armor over a long sleeved blue shirt and pants. The one on the right had spiky white hair and wore blue armor in the same style while also having on a headband that had plates to frame his face and had red lines going down from his eyes. The two resurrected Shinobi looked around before their eyes landed on the Sandaime Hokage and they realized what was going on. "My Edo Tensei?" The white haired man questioned as he looked behind him to see a grinning Orochimaru. "I had hoped this jutsu would die with me but it seems to have remained."

"No matter the era there always seems to be war." The other sighed as he turned to Sarutobi. "Apologies little Saru, but it looks like we must do battle."

"I hold nothing against you Shodai-sama, Niidaime-sama. It is only my wayward student that holds my ire."

"Oh come now sensei, I went to all the trouble of bringing back your mentors for you. All so you could enjoy the same feeling of fighting your teaches as I am." Orochimaru taunted as he pulled out kunai tied with special red tags and placed them into the heads of the previous Hokages. The two dead ninja began to steam before they were restored to perfect condition and had blank, lifeless expressions. "Now…" The man started as he picked his Kusanagi back up and looked at the old man with a grin. "How about we begin?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!" Naruto shouted as he leapt into the air with his fingers forming a cross in front of him. Next to him a single clone appeared and began to run through signs as the original lit his gauntlet with chakra. "Hitsume!"

"Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" The clone shouted as Naruto swung out his jagged wave of fire and the clone released a torrent of wind to fuel the fire into a hotter blaze. The large wave of white hot fire shot down towards the triple headed snake below and cleanly removed a head as the other two hissed in pain, the wound cauterizing instantly from its heat. Naruto's clone reached for its copy of the Kagirinai Buyou but it was two slow as a head whipped up and bit it in half, making it dispel in a puff of smoke. The real Naruto winced at the memory as he landed and instantly leapt away from the other head as the first turned its focus to him as well.

"Come on you ugly scaled fucker! I'll chop you down to size!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed his weapon and charged it with chakra. Naruto leapt off the roof he was on as a snake head crashed down on it. Before he could attack it the other lunged at him so he changed targets and using wind chakra he sliced the attacking head in half vertically. The last head hissed in pain before rushing after Naruto as he just grinned and tossed the double bladed naginata through the head like a javelin as it pierced the snakes brain and came out the other side of its head. Naruto scoffed at the now dead snake and leapt over to his weapon and grabbed it. Looking around he frowned as he saw the destruction around him. "Why would anybody do such a thing?" He muttered.

"DIE!" The blond barely had time to stiffen before a large fist struck him on his right side and sent him plowing through three buildings. Coughing as he pushed rubble off of him Naruto stood up and looked to see who was attacking him but only caught a glimpse orange and purple before a massive uppercut turned his vision skyward. The boy coughed up blood as a fist to the gut made him double over before he flew back and crashed into another building, this time only cracking the wall as he was pressed against it. Naruto coughed and struggled to breath as he glared ahead, finally seeing who was attacking him.

Standing a few feet away was an extremely tall teen with spiked orange hair wearing a sleeveless light purple top and purple shaded camouflage pants without any kind of foot wear at all. However it was his eyes and skin that got his attention. His eyes were different in that his pupils were yellow while his sclera were black and surrounding his right eye and leading down to his right arm and fist was dark purple skin that was slowly retreating back to a light tan as the discolored portion solidified around his right eye only.

"_Juugo, as you know, Orochimaru-sama has discovered a… cure… for your symptoms." Kabuto lied as he stood in front of the teen in a shadowed part of the village. "He would give it to you now but he feels he may have needed your unique talents one last time first."_

"_I will do anything for Orochimaru-sama. After how much he has helped me, how could I not?" The tall teen replied with a small smile. Kabuto smiled himself and nodded._

"_I know Juugo, and so does Orochimaru-sama." He replied before getting serious. "Well now is the time of truth. He had hoped you wouldn't be needed, knowing of your dislike of killing but it seems were out of options. Gaara was defeated and he was the trump card of the invasion plan. Without him, you'll have to be that trump Juugo. Destroy everyone in the village you come across." The teen ordered as Juugo nodded before Kabuto pulled out two photos. "Destroy everyone, except these two." He corrected as he handed the orange haired boy the photographs. One was of a blond with blue eyes and whisker marks and the other was a boy with dark hair and black eyes._

"_Who are they?"_

"_The dark haired one is Uchiha Sasuke, Orochimaru-sama's choice for his next vessel." Kabuto explained. "The blond is Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchuriki to the Kyuubi no Yoko. If you come across either of them, beat them within an inch of their life and knock them out. But whatever you do, do not kill or cripple either of them. Orochimaru-sama has plans for the two of them and needs them alive and able to be healed to perform them."_

"_I understand."_

"Who the fuck are you?" Naruto shouted. The teen just cackled madly as he ran in. Naruto growled but got back to his feet and was about to cut him with the weapon he had barely kept a hold on when he froze seeing the purple skin around his eye rush down to his right arm as the arm itself mutated. It changed rapidly from a normal fist to a large and spike fist one would expect on a demon and not a human while coming out of the elbow were a few tubes. Naruto's shock left him open as the fist collided with his chest before the tubes erupted by firing off chakra to add momentum to the attack and propel the punch into Naruto further. The teen jinchuriki slammed against the wall again and cracked it further as the purple on Juugo's skin gathered on his left arm and it mutated as well. Rather than another large fist though it morphed into a spiked ball that he drew back with an insane grin.

"NOW YOU DIE!" The teen screamed as he swung forward to smash Naruto through the wall and making him burst out of the other side of the building and roll in the street as he slowly stood back up. The blond growled before spinning the Kagirinai Buyou in his hands and waiting for Juugo to attack again. He didn't have to wait long as the orange haired teen jumped over the building and came down as both of his feet had mutated into large spikes. The blond leapt back to dodge before rushing back in as Juugo held his hands up and they shifted into large purple shields.

"Go to hell!" Naruto shouted as he began to slash at the teen, making his step back with each blow. However something he noticed was that he wasn't cutting through the shield Juugo had made. Even adding wind chakra to the weapon was only letting it scratch the older teens defensive arm growths. "What the hell are you?!" He yelled as he was about to attack again when tubes suddenly grew out of the shield and blasted him back with a burst of raw chakra. Naruto stumbled back as Juugo's arms reverted to the large fists and he grabbed Naruto and slammed him onto the ground. Around Juugo's ankle more tubes formed and started blasting out chakra, propelling the boy forward as he dragged the blond across the ground laughing the entire time. Finally Juugo cut the chakra to his feet as he used his momentum to spin himself around, picking Naruto up and throwing him at the apex of his spin, the boy flying across the village from the force.

"YOUR MINE BLONDIE!"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Okay, we've gotten the civilians to the shelters. Now what Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked as she and Sasuke stood at the entrance to the shelters with the other rookie genin. While the others of their class didn't seem to be too happy with the girl instantly turning to Sasuke for leadership, especially when there were three genin there with a year of more experience, they nonetheless stayed quiet because at the very least they could hear him out and then deliberate over what to do.

"I'm not sure. Our sensei's ordered us to get the civilians here and watch over them…" He muttered before nodding to himself. "Alright, we'll split into two teams. One will cover the north half of the village and the other the south. Our priority will be to get civilians to the shelters. Avoid fighting at all costs and instead use distraction tactics to flee with the helpless. Sakura and I will go with Kiba's team while Shikamaru's will go with Neji's. Sound good?" He ordered as Neji smirked.

"A good plan. A Byakugan on each squad to search in the buildings along with both teams having some type of distraction fighter and long range support while not neglecting close range attackers in case combat is unavoidable. You live up to your Rookie of the Year title." The older genin praised before glancing at his teammates. "We'll take the north side, you handle the south. Let's move." He ordered as Tenten and Lee nodded. The three heirs to the Ino-Shika-Cho stratagem nodded as well and took off after the older team as Sasuke pulled out his sword and held it at the ready.

"Alright, let's go." The Uchiha ordered as his comrades nodded and they took off. "Hinata, scan the houses for people inside. Kiba, you and the dog keep your noses open for anyone approaching. Sakura and Shino, you both stay back and at the ready to hypnotize and drain any enemy we come across." Sasuke ordered as he blinked with his black eyes changing to the red of his Sharingan upon opening again. Veins around Hinata's eyes bulged as her pupils became noticeable against her lavender eyes to show her own bloodline going to work. Kiba channeled chakra to his nose as Akamaru ran beside him. Bringing up the rear were Sakura and Shino, both keeping a look out for everything they could while Sasuke was at the head of the group.

"I found a c-couple people to our r-right!" Hinata announced before leading them to a building with a broken door. "They're in the b-basement." She told them as Sasuke pointed to Sakura and Shino.

"You get them out while we'll stay out here in case someone comes by." He ordered as the pair nodded and ran in. They had only been gone for a minute when Hinata gasped and looked up.

"Watch out!" She screamed as she shoved Sasuke and Kiba to the ground. The two barely hit the dirt below them when the building fell apart as something crashed into it. The genin got up and started at the ruined building in shock before some rubble cleared as insects moved the pieces away and showed Sakura leading an old couple through to safety. Hinata however ignored them and instead went a little further into the former home and started moving rubble away.

"What're you doing Hinata?!" Kiba shouted as she gasped and stumbled back for a second before diving back down and pulling up a figure. A figure with blond hair and whiskers. "Naruto?!" The Inuzuka questioned as Sasuke and Sakura stared in shock at the boy's appearance. His lip was bleeding as was a cut over his left eye while his shirt had a large hole in the center and his right sleeve was missing entirely. As for his pants, they were torn in multiple places while everything from the left knee down was missing, revealing the cut and bleeding skin. "Dude, who could do this to him?" Kiba asked as Sakura ran over and put a hand on Naruto's cheek and tried to get his attention.

"Naruto? Naruto wake up! Naruto what happened?" She asked as he tiredly opened his glazed over eyes.

"R… run…" He whispered before a crash echoed behind them and they spun around to see Juugo land in a crouch that formed cracks on the ground.

"OH GOODIE, MORE PEOPLE TO KILL!" He shouted as he ran in with a grin. Sasuke growled and charged the Kubikiribocho with lightning before meeting Juugo's charge and slashing at him. The orange haired teen raised his left arm as it formed half of the shield Naruto failed to cut and blocked the electrified blade.

"What?" Sasuke grunted as Juugo punched him aside with his right.

"Hinata! Sakura! Shino! Get the civvies and Naruto out of here!" Kiba shouted as he tossed a soldier pill to Akamaru and made a few hand signs. "Shikyaku no Jutsu (All-Fours Technique) Junjin Bunshin (Man-Beast Clone)!" The boy growled out as his nails lengthened into claws and he dropped to his hands and knees while Akamaru leapt onto his back before turning into an exact copy of Kiba. "Gatsuuga (Fang Over Fang)!" He shouted as both he and Akamaru leapt at Juugo, spinning wildly until they looked like mobile drills. Juugo grinned as both arms tuned into a large number of tubes that he pointed at the two oncoming drills. Hinata, who could see the chakra build-up in the teens arms screamed.

"KIBA NO!"

It was too late as beams of chakra shot out and struck both drills head on and caused dual explosions. When the smoke cleared both Kiba and Akamaru were unconscious and bleeding on the ground, the dog having reverted to its normal appearance. Juugo chuckled before pointing at Naruto.

"THE BLONIDE IS MINE! GIVE HIM TO ME!" He shouted while Hinata let go of Naruto and ran to Kiba as Sakura grabbed him to prevent him from falling to the ground. Juugo growled and was about to shout again when his senses warned him of an attack and tubes formed out of his back that fired off chakra, blowing away Sasuke as he had tried to cut the teen down from behind.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted as the Uchiha got to his feet and glared at Juugo. The orange haired boy scoffed before turning to face him.

"I DON'T WANT YOU! I WANT BLONDIE!" The teen shouted as he rushed forward and lifted a mutated fist to punch the Uchiha as he lifted his sword to defend himself. Spikes on Juugo's fist puncture through the Kubikiri as Sasuke used the flat of the blade to block. With a laugh the spikes opened up and beams of chakra blasted out making Sasuke drop the sword as he was sent back screaming in pain. Juugo gripped the blade caught on his hand and snapped it into pieces before dropping them and turning back to Sakura, Naruto and Shino, the pink haired girl glaring at him in both hate and fear as tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Shino, get the civilians out of here!" Sakura shouted as she set Naruto down and charged Juugo. From the side Hinata ran forward as well. However Juugo growled as his arms both morphed into deadly serrated blades and he swung at the girls. Sakura whipped the blade out of her gauntlet and managed to block but was sent flying off to the side while Hinata ducked under the blade that swung at her and struck nerve points on Juugo's arm. Instantly the mutated blade he grew pulsed and twitched before Juugo screamed and clutched at it as it reverted to normal. Hinata ran forward to strike the other arm but Juugo leapt back and shook it as it pulsed red before changing back into its bladed form as he glared at her.

"THAT HURT SO NOW YOU DIE!" He screamed as he brought the blade down on Hinata.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"**Child…" **Naruto was lying on his back in the water as he was gasping for breath while his body was wracked with pain. Occasionally a muscle would spasm and he would groan with a grimace and clenching of his teeth. **"Child, you must get up. Your task is not yet finished." **Kyuubi told the boy as it watched him from behind the bars of its cage. The boy gasped as another spasm of pain tore through him before he replied.

"I'm at the end of my rope Kyuubi. I didn't show it but Gaara drained me of pretty much everything. I've been running on mostly you and fumes this whole time." The boy grunted out as Kyuubi nodded.

"**I know. But you made a promise did you not?" **Kyuubi asked as Naruto narrowed his eyes in confusion and struggled to sit up. Once he did the beast reached out with a claw and tapped the water in front of the boy making it shimmer and show him what was happening outside his body.

"No!" He shouted as he saw Juugo punch Sasuke away. He watched in horror as Kiba and Akamaru were simultaneously taken out from one double attack before Sasuke tried to attack him again. "No! I have to help them!" He shouted as he shakily got to his feet. Kyuubi nodded before narrowing its eyes as the boy fell back to his knees and threw his hands forward to prevent himself from falling flat on his face. "But I can't. My body in here is only a representation… If it's this bad for me now then when I leave the mindscape I won't even be able to move." He muttered as the boy shook his head. "I'm too low on chakra and I can't do this under my own power."

"**Then do it under mine." **The fox offered as Naruto looked up to him and saw the beast holding a claw out through the bars of the cage.

"I take your power in this state and you're liable to take control." The blond growled as he refused to allow the demon to trick him again. Kyuubi shook its head as the boy struggled to his feet again.

"**I won't. Just this once." **It told him. **"Think of it as a gift for taking down my kin so easily and impressing me." **Kyuubi offered as Naruto shakily reached for the claw but stopped himself before actually touching it to take the demon's chakra. Seeing him hesitate the demon narrowed its eyes. **"You don't have much choice here child. It's either accept my generosity or break your promise and allow comrades to die in front of you**." He told him as he motioned to the images of outside and saw Sakura get sent away as Hinata managed to harm Juugo before he attacked her again. Seeing that the blond ignored his apprehension at Kyuubi's possible plotting and grabbed the claw as the beast channeled chakra into the boy to numb his wounds and heal the minor ones as the blond left the mindscape. **"Now stand child." **Kyuubi ordered, its voice ringing in the boys' head. **"Stand and fight!"**

Hinata screamed as the blade came down too fast for her to dodge and Juugo laughed. However just before the attack could so much as touch a hair on the girls' head the teen was sent flying back by an attack to his face. With a growl Juugo shook his head to get rid of the pain and stood back up to see Naruto standing next to her with three tails of chakra around him as he stood next to Hinata. The girl wasn't even paying attention to the enemy anymore and instead had her focus on the blond that had now saved her life twice. She almost jumped when he actually spoke.

"**Are you okay**?" He asked, his voice surprisingly gentle despite the power of a violent demon running through him. The girl nodded so he smiled before settling a glare on Juugo. "**Get everyone out of here. I'll finish him**." He told her as she nodded and rushed to do as she was told, having an idea that whatever he was going to do to Juugo was going to be explosive. Shino had been standing behind them watching over the civilians as a last line of defense as he was now staring at Naruto in shock.

'_I didn't even see him move! And to go from unconscious to saving Hinata in such a short amount of time… Truly, how far above your peers are you _Kurai Kitsune_?'_

"**You get one shot. Give up or I will end this**." The blond offered as Juugo growled and charged him. "**So be it**." Naruto ran to meet his charge as he ducked under Juugo's enlarged fist to strike the teen in the chest. This time Juugo was prepared so he didn't get sent away but instead merely stumbled back a step before morphing his fists into blade and trying to cut the demon enhanced blond. Naruto didn't waste a second and leapt over the attacks and landed behind Juugo as tubes sprouted from his back to blast him. However in a burst of speed the blond ducked under their attack and swept Juugo's feet out from under him before grabbing him by his shirt and tossing him into a building. With a growl Juugo got up and tried to attack the blond again.

"DIE!" He shouted as Naruto swerved around his fist and kicked the teen back rushing forward while holding his left hand back. The gauntlet ignited into flame but instead of swinging forward like he normally did the boy used his chakra for something different. Using a combination of the gauntlets control over fire and his own chakra, the blond began to spin the fire over his hand until it formed a ball of swirling red flames over a white hot core.

"**You first. ****Katon: Rasengan (Fire Release: Spiraling Sphere)**!" He shouted as he slammed the fireball into Juugo's chest. The boy screamed as the swirling fire dug into his skin before blasting him back in a large twister of fire and flames. Naruto held the chakra flow to the attack to keep the twister flowing as Juugo screamed and was sent flying back. However his arm twitched as the chakra was cut off and he collapsed, the demonic chakra of Kyuubi being cut off now that his foe was defeated. Naruto stumbled forward a second on his feet before dropping to his knees and then continuing down to land on his face, unconscious from the second his knees touched dirt.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she rushed back from the hit Juugo got her with. While her ribs were hurting a bit, helping her comrade came first. The pink haired girl knelt down next to the blond and gently turned him onto his back and checked his heartbeat before letting out a sigh of relief that it was steady. "He's okay… just some major chakra exhaustion and probably a few broken bones." She muttered. "But what are we going to do now?" The girl asked as she looked to Shino next to the civilians and Hinata next to Kiba. That was when a man dropped down and Sakura gasped.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"What's the situation?" Jiraiya asked as he landed next to the purple barrier being held around Orochimaru and Sarutobi.

"Orochimaru has resurrected the Shodai and Niidaime and is currently triple teaming Sandaime-sama." The ANBU explained as Jiraiya grit his teeth.

"And what about the barrier?"

"Nothing we know will break it from the outside. It's being held up by four young Shinobi in the corners." The Sannin narrowed his eyes before jumping to the nearest corner to see a girl with red hair and amber eyes wearing a black beanie on her head. Seeing the Sannin made her eyes widen in shock.

"Holy shit it's Jiraiya!" The girl shouted as the man grunted.

"You know who I am. Good. Drop the barrier and I promise you'll be taken care of." He offered as she scoffed.

"Fuck off you old prick. I'm not dropping shit for you." She swore as the man sighed.

"Don't say I didn't give you a way out later." He told her before kneeling down next to the barrier and pulling out a scroll and brush. The man began to draw out a complex seal that was giving the girl a headache just from looking at it before he finished it and set it on the roof next to the barrier before jumping back.

"What the fuck is this supposed to do?" The girl shouted as Jiraiya made a few hand signs before clapping his hands.

"This. Fuin: Kaminari Myaku Suijaku (Seal: Lightning Pulse Breakdown)!" He called out as the seal glowed and the formula spread from the paper to the roof around it, going under the barrier as the glow got brighter and the girl looked down.

"Fuck!" She shouted before everything on top of the seal was struck by lightning. The girl dropped her corner of the barrier as she passed out making the entire barrier fall apart. Jiraiya spared the girl no extra looks as he rushed in just in time to stop Orochimaru from stabbing Sarutobi. The snake Sannin was shocked to see his old teammate but put it out of his mind as he leapt back to avoid a lightning covered hand from behind.

"Jiraiya, Kakashi. How nice of you to join us." The man commented as his resurrected Hokages landed next to him. Jiraiya was scowling as Kakashi had his headband up and was boring a hole into Orochimaru's head with his implanted eye. Hiruzen stood next to his Shinobi as he was breathing heavily while holding onto a large bo staff. "As you can see, sensei is feeling a little sluggish. Perhaps you can play instead?" Kakashi wordlessly made a few hand signs as his Sharingan eye changed shape. "What's that?" The snake gasped out while Kakashi didn't answer him.

"Hold him down for three seconds and I can end it." The jonin told his superiors as they both nodded.

"Then we'll give them to you Kakashi-kun." Sarutobi responded as he glanced to Jiraiya and the two nodded silently. Dashing forward the two charged as Orochimaru mentally commanded his undead pawns to attack them. Quickly Sarutobi made a pair of shadow clones that grappled with the undead Kages as Jiraiya and the original Sarutobi continued on to Orochimaru. Seeing his chance Kakashi pushed chakra into his eye, focusing on the undead Kages and shadow clones.

"Kamui (Authority of the Gods)!" The man called out as the area around them began to spiral before being sucked into the center of the spiral and vanishing. Kakashi dropped to a knee as the chakra loss hit him while Orochimaru was dumbstruck over the loss of his weapons.

"What have you done?!" He shouted as Jiraiya came in with a straight punch Orochimaru swerved around while the Hokage leapt up and came down with a massive slam from his staff. The snake Sannin dodged again as Jiraiya ran through hand signs.

"Katon: Endan (Fire Release: Flame Bullet)!" He called out as he launched a large fireball at Orochimaru. The Sannin dodged before he found Sarutobi behind him finishing his own signs.

"Doton: Doryudan no Jutsu (Earth Release: Earth Dragon Projectile Technique)!" He called out as a dragon head made of mud rose from the ground and began launching mud balls at the Sannin. Orochimaru stopped and used his sword to slash away the attacks before he felt a tug on his arm and looked over to see Kakashi focusing on him.

"No!"

"Kamui!" The Sannin screamed and pulled away as his arm and sword were sucked into Kakashi's jutsu and torn away. The Sannin landed and was gripping his bleeding stump with his other hand as the three awake Shinobi from his Sound Four leapt to his side.

"Sound the retreat." Orochimaru grit out as two of his Shinobi began to support him and ran away. Kakashi dropped down from the chakra loss of using his Kamui twice in a row as Sarutobi collapsed himself from age and chakra exhaustion. Jiraiya grit his teeth in anger as he watched Orochimaru flee before turning to the ANBU.

"Get these two to the hospital stat!" He ordered as two men bent down and picked up the two collapsed Shinobi. "Send word that the enemy is retreating. I want our Shinobi to round up whoever we can but if they make it outside Konoha's walls then let them go and turn on the enemy still in the village. GO!" Jiraiya commanded as the remaining ANBU leapt off to give out their orders.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Little Naruto sure did a number on you didn't he Juugo?" Kabuto mused as he waited at a rendezvous point outside the village for Orochimaru. The spy had snuck in and grabbed the barely alive teen and snuck out the second the alarm for retreat was given. As he waited he ran various medical jutsus over Juugo's unconscious form and let out a whistle at the damage. "Ruptured organs, broken bones, and that's not even counting the multiple first, second, and third degree burns. He even managed to burn the nerves themselves with that elemental Rasengan of his. You know, I wasn't even aware he had completed that jutsu of his fathers." The teen commented before letting out a chuckle. "But of course, you can't even hear me or respond. Can you Juugo?" He asked before Orochimaru dropped in with three of the Sound Four. "Oh? Where's Tayuya?" He asked as Orochimaru grit his teeth and focused his chakra.

"Captured most likely." He commented before opening his mouth as two hands came out from his throat. With a slight tug the two hands pulled an entirely new Orochimaru out of the one armed body like a snake shedding its skin. "Kakashi's implanted Sharingan is apparently at Mangekyou level and he has a very disturbing jutsu to warp away whatever he's looking at. He managed to get my arm and Kusanagi and had I been a little more careless he would've gotten my entire body in that jutsu of his." The man mused before looking to Juugo as his eyes widened. "Juugo?" He asked as Kabuto nodded.

"The results of Naruto making a fire Rasengan" Kabuto explained as the Sannin's head whipped to him.

"An elemental Rasengan? The boy actually completed Minato's jutsu?" He asked in shock. Kabuto nodded so the Sannin scowled. "And I take it nobody actually managed to capture him?"

"Or Sasuke." Kabuto confirmed as the pale man cursed before looking to Juugo. "I've stabilized him so that his life is in no danger. However the damage is surprisingly too much for me to heal. Even with his own supernatural healing caused by his condition, I can't completely restore him." Kabuto explained as Orochimaru thought things over.

"Let's return to Oto now. I'll think of something to do later. Right now I want to rest after the hell that became."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Hardly an hour. Thanks to the efforts of the Shinobi of Konoha the Invasion plan was broken and forced into retreat in just over an hour after it began. Special mentions were the efforts of Jiraiya, Kakashi and Naruto; the three having done the most help in the battle. Jiraiya had taken down two summons before breaking down the barrier stopping people from helping the Sandaime battle the enemy leader, Kakashi himself had been the one to force the rogue Sannin to retreat. And Naruto had not only taken out the strongest of the enemy summons but also cleared out multiple enemies in the village before fighting and taking down a teen with strange and devastating abilities. The people were recovering and the Hokage was exhausted but set to make a full recovery with a couple days of rest, as were Kakashi and Naruto. Until his sensei was up and thinking clearly again, Jiraiya had taken over the village and started working on repairing the village. Captured enemies were interrogated for knowledge on the full force of what the plan was while Oto ninja were also quizzed on the location of Orochimaru's personal Shinobi village. None were executed or harmed as Jiraiya was going to leave their fate in the hands of his mentor once he awoke. Though to some this was a sign.

Konoha had been letting itself grow weak. They had been resting on their unofficial title as the strongest of the five instead of being properly prepared. Not only that but the Sandaime Hokage was getting on in years. It was time for a change. A new, younger Kage would be needed to lead Konoha through the changes that would come and reinforce their position as the strongest. That was the general consensus of most of the Shinobi in the village. Nothing concrete was being decided though. Jiraiya was only acting as Hokage until his sensei woke up and then the older man would be in charge once more. Right now ideas were simply being tossed around to present to the man when he woke up and went over everything Jiraiya had already done in his place.

Another point of interest was Naruto himself. The public reveal of his jinchuriki status had some of the younger generation that had met or heard of the boy questioning if that was why they had been told to stay away from him or why he had been mistreated. Not only that but then with his slip and revealing of his heritage the village was further in confusion about the boy. A few refused to recognize it, claiming the demon was just lying to try and avoid the hate they were 'rightfully' directing towards him. Many more though could see it was true after a bit of thought. He looked almost exactly like the Yondaime, he was extremely skilled from a young age as well. Plus the people who knew what kind of man Minato was knew that he wouldn't ask anyone else to do something if he wouldn't do it himself first, even when that something was offering up their child to be a jinchuriki. Plus the Sandaime had always told them that Minato's last wish was for the boy to be seen as a hero despite his the demon he contained. While only the smallest of handfuls actually followed that wish, it did make sense to them all now as true. Most had simply believed the Sandaime was lying to protect the boy. Now they saw it as the truth of a father wanting the best for his son.

As such most of the village was in a state of guilt over what they had done to Naruto over the years. They mostly did their best to ignore it at the current time as the village needed to be rebuilt first and foremost, but it remained in the back of their minds. How were they supposed to apologize to the Yondaime for spitting on his last wish out of their selfish hate and anger? Better yet, how were they supposed to apologize to the boy they took that hate and anger out on for all these years?

Sitting in a chair was Sakura as Sasuke walked into the room and stood by her. In front of them was their blond teammate, hooked up to a machine to keep track of his vitals as he lay unconscious in the hospital bed provided for him. The girl glanced to Sasuke as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Kakashi-sensei is fine, due to wake anytime now." He said in answer to her unasked question. The girl sighed in relief before looking to Naruto as Sasuke crossed his arms. "What about him?"

"The same. Just playing the waiting game now." The girl muttered as Sasuke walked over to the window to look out over the village that only last week had been devastated by an attack. "Sasuke-kun…" She started as the boy grunted to show he was listening but didn't turn away from his view of the village. "Are… are we strong enough? Are we really strong enough for all this?" She asked as he turned his head to look at her to see her clenching her hands on her knees with her head down. "Seeing the village under attack was terrifying. But that… that wasn't even the worst part of it for me. It was seeing Naruto so weak from that guy. And then watching you get knocked away so easily and then I was… I was so relieved when Naruto got up and attacked him. But then when he just dropped after using that jutsu that fear came back twice as bad as before. I mean, Naruto is so powerful. He's already in the Bingo Book, he's far above everyone else and yet he's our age. He's so strong and comparing myself against him… It just makes me feel like none of it's worth it. Like all my training doesn't matter because I'm never going to be strong enough for what I need to do… strong enough so that I won't be scared…" The girl explained, having started crying during her talk. Sasuke sighed as he looked back outside and leaned against the wall.

"I don't know Sakura." Sasuke answered after some thought. "I don't know if I'm strong enough to protect the village like I'm supposed to, to protect my comrades and friends like I'm supposed to… none of it. I don't know if I'm strong enough for it all." He answered as Sakura let out a couple sobs at how Sasuke seemed to be confirming her thoughts. "But I can't stop training to get stronger. This just proved it to me. I couldn't even hurt that guy Sakura. Outside of Naruto, people praise me as the strongest of our generation and yet I couldn't even scratch that guy. If I can't do that then how can I ever match up to my brother and bring him to justice for what he did to the rest of my clan?" Sasuke asked her as she looked up, this being the first time she had heard that. Like the rest of their class, she knew the Uchiha clan had been completely massacred with Sasuke being the only survivor. Not one of them knew that it was his own older brother that did the deed. "My brother is the strongest Shinobi I know of and I know right now I would stand no chance against him. Naruto and Kakashi-sensei are the next strongest and I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to match them either. With all my training, even getting a legendary weapon in my hands to help, I'm still powerless compared to them. Trust me Sakura, I know what you're feeling; I've been feeling it for every single day since my clan was killed. But that's why I keep training, why I keep pushing my limits. I have something I need to accomplish and if I'm not strong enough now then I'll get stronger. This invasion showed me how far I still have to go, how far the world is capable of going. I'm not ready yet, but I'm going to keep training until I am. And then… then I'll accomplish my goals." He finished as Sakura smiled slightly.

"Well said boy." The two genin spun around to see the white haired Sannin standing at the doorway with a smirk on his face. "I just came by to check on my godson and here I find the last Uchiha promising to get stronger and encouraging his teammate to do the same. That's definitely the spirit I want to see in the next generation, the drive to surpass their limits and the previous generation. That's part of what keeps Konoha as strong as we are." Jiraiya said as he walked in and stood behind Sakura. "I don't think we've ever been introduced. I'm Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin and godfather to the blond in bed. I'm also acting Hokage but that title won't last."

"I'm Haruno Sakura." The girl introduced herself as Sasuke grunted.

"Uchiha Sasuke." He gave out before looking down at Naruto. "If you're Naruto's godfather then why the hell do we know for a fact he had such a shitty childhood?" He asked.

"Sasuke-kun!" The pink haired girl gasped, shocked the boy would intentionally provoke a possible confrontation with such a powerful ninja while Jiraiya scowled as he locked gazes with the boy.

"While it's none of your business I'll let you know just because you're both close to Naruto. I maintain a spy network outside the village that keeps Konoha safe from multiple threats before they ever even have the chance to become threats." He explained. "This job as a spymaster requires I stay out of the village for long periods of time on a regular basis. Literally, I'm only in the village for about two or three weeks every four or five months. This is not something you want to raise a child in so I left him to sensei, hoping he would be able to watch over Naruto for me while I took care of business outside of the village. I expected my sensei, the Sandaime Hokage, to be able to keep the village under control so I never bothered to check on Naruto, confident he was being well taken care of. It wasn't until after that debacle in Iwa that I even laid eyes on the boy since the day he was born. When I found out how bad things were…" The man trailed off as his scowl dropped to a remorseful look. "When I found out what was really going on I blamed myself for it all. I hadn't bothered to check on him in my blind faith in Sarutobi-sensei and Naruto paid the price for it. I failed him in so many ways that I don't deserve to call myself his godfather alright? But I'm trying to make it up to him. I've taught him a few things and even offered to let him become my apprentice but he's shot me down at that. He barely trusts me and only gives me respect for my Shinobi skills, I don't have a single drop of it as a person." The man admitted with a sigh. "But just like you plan on training to keep getting stronger, I'm still trying to connect with my godson and make up for my past mistakes."

Sasuke and Sakura were silent as they took everything in before a nurse walked in. She was surprised to see Jiraiya in the room and quickly explained she was just in to check on the blond so they stood aside and let her do her job before she left as they fell into a silence. "What… what do you mean Naruto shot down your offer to become your apprentice?" Sakura asked after a bit and Jiraiya shrugged.

"You two know how I'm known as the Gama-Sennin right? Well that's because I can summon toads. Kakashi taught Naruto the Rasengan since that was his father's signature jutsu outside of the great Hirashin. I would've done it too but Naruto was already nearing mastery of the jutsu when I first trained with him. All I could do there was give him a couple tips to help him finish up. Afterwards, I offered to let Naruto sign the Toad Summoning Contract and become my apprentice like his father did. But the boy said he wanted to be his own man. He respects and loves his father, but he doesn't want to be his father. He wants to be better. Naruto felt he couldn't do that if he followed the man's footsteps exactly so instead he's been training his own way so that when he finally passes on and meets the man in the afterlife he can stand beside him as an equal, not behind him as a shadow or echo. He treats Rasengan as the gift from his father while fuinjutsu as the gift of his mother and strives to surpass their skills with the both of them but other than that I can safely say Naruto's fighting style is completely unique. He's combined the best of his parents and his old teammates and mixed in his own stuff to create the Shinobi he is today." The man explained as Sasuke and Sakura were again silent to take in what they learned.

Refusing personal training with a Sannin? Both of them knew hundreds of other Shinobi would kill for the chance and yet Naruto had refused it. But his goal to be greater than his father his own way was one that they couldn't help but respect the blond more for. He wanted to be known for his own skills, not just the ones his father had. Suddenly Sakura had a thought and asked Jiraiya about it. "Wait, you said take the Rasengan farther. What did you mean by that?" She asked as he held out his hand as the jutsu formed over his empty palm.

"The Rasengan is the ultimate form of shape manipulation possible. It's pure chakra though, no element involved. That means it's technically incomplete, unfinished. While powerful already, Minato had always meant to add his lightning element to this thing. When he taught it to me his said he made the base pure chakra so that it could be taught to others and then they could add their own elements to it to create five different versions of the technique, possibly more if the holder of a bloodline element tried adding their unique skill to it." He explained before dispelling the technique. "Naruto wants to take it further by doing what his father never could; he wants to add an element to the Rasengan." Sakura smiled as she turned back to the still boy.

"He already has." She told him as the man gaped. "He used a fire version of it to take out this guy in the invasion last week."

"That little brat… I knew he was holding out on me." Jiraiya muttered before breaking out into a proud smile. The man's attention was drawn to an ANBU as the masked ninja dropped down by the window, startling Sasuke and Sakura.

"Jiraiya-sama, Hokage-sama is waking up."

"I see. I'll be there in a moment." The man responded as the ANBU vanished. The Sannin sighed as he walked towards the door. "Well, I guess I'll see the two of you later. Keep an eye on the gaki for me." He called out behind him as he left and the genin turned back to Naruto. Now they just needed him to wake up.


	21. 21

**Guest:** Obito will come in with Akatsuki just like canon but how he operates will be different. I can't really say anymore than that though without giving away major spoilers.

**Dreaded Rasengan**: He already replaced his arm by using the jutsu that lets him spit out a copy of himself like a snake shedding its skin.

**mellra:** Then I guess Naruto will feel wrong to you because I will confirm that he will NOT be getting any summons.

**LaughingPrincess88:** Oh he will, but then something will happen and he won't care anymore.

**Guest:** While the Toads do have the key to the seal, Naruto still won't get them and will have a way around that by the time it actually matters.

**KaijuOh:** No Tayuya will not become an Uzumaki. I have other plans for her.

* * *

><p><strong>21 -<strong> A Nightmare of Red Clouds

"I see. Thank you for doing so much in my sleep Jiraiya." Sarutobi thanked as the Sannin finished filling him in on everything going on with the village.

"Not a problem sensei. Kakashi and Naruto are set to wake up any time now according to their doctors so they should be up and about soon enough." The man added before giving a small smile. "I just went and checked on the boy before coming here and found his two teammates there. Before I walked in I could hear them talking so I listened. The girl seemed like she was starting to doubt herself since she didn't think she was strong enough but the Uchiha snapped her out of that by saying he knows he wasn't strong enough but that he'd just train until he was and inspired her to do the same. I gotta say, it's nice to see the younger generation taking up the values that keep Konoha how it is." The man admitted as Sarutobi smiled himself.

"I'm glad to know that. There were a few worries about Sasuke after his clan was killed. To hear that he's growing strong and keeping true to the Will of Fire, it does this old heart good I think." Jiraiya just nodded slightly in agreement. "And if you want to see something like that more often then you could always become Hokage." The old man told him as Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

"I told you this back before you gave Minato that hat, I'm not cut out for the job!" He complained as Sarutobi chuckled.

"Merely a suggestion my student. I happen to agree with the general opinion on the village that a new and younger Hokage is needed. I will start going over possibilities tomorrow after I leave this room behind. As necessary as they are, I share young Naruto-kun's dislike of hospitals." The man commented as the Sannin cracked a grin at that. "For now though I'd like for you to bring me all the reports I need to go over as well as any on the exploits of the genin from the Exams. It may not be ideal but the Invasion did provide them all with experience in war and can help finalize any chunin promotion ideas I had been thinking of before it started." The Kage told him as Jiraiya shrugged and headed for the door.

"Yeah sure. Outside of Naruto's obvious promotion I think only a couple genin actually showed promise for the next level."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"H-has he woken up yet?" Sakura turned around in her seat as the door opened and Hinata walked in. The girl was nervously tapping her fingers together as Sakura gave her a slight smile and shook her head.

"No but we're told it should be anytime now. Hokage-sama apparently just woke up though." The girl offered as Hinata claimed a seat on the other side of the bed of the sleeping blond. "So, what're you here for Hinata? I thought you'd be checking up on Kiba after that guy put him down."

"I-I did. He's r-really hurting b-but is set to make a f-full recovery in a f-few weeks. I just w-wanted to check up on Naruto-san n-now because he's d-done so much for me." She answered before looking around. "Where's S-Sasuke-san?"

"Sasuke-kun went to go grab something to eat since he was getting kind of hungry. He should be back soon though." Sakura answered as she stood. "Well, since you're here, mind watching over him while I take a trip to the restroom?" She asked as Hinata nodded so she left the room and the lavender eyed Hyuuga looked down to the blond. Hooked up to his chest were a few wires to monitor his vitals while there were bandages over his chest and arms as well as a small one over his eye. The girl nervously looked around before reaching up to his whiskers and running a finger over them, feeling the rough edges against the smooth skin of his cheeks.

"They're r-real…" She muttered as she pulled her hand back, having wondered if they were just marks or actual whiskers. She waited silently before hearing a groan as she looked back to Naruto and saw his eyes open slowly. He grimaced and shut them again at the light coming in as he slowly lifted his left hand to shield his face.

"Ugh… why are the rooms always so damn bright?" He muttered as he rubbed his eyes a bit and opened them again to see he was in the hospital with Hinata next to him staring at him. "Hey Hinata…" He started as he craned his head around to see that they were alone in the room. "How long was I out?"

"It's been a l-little o-over three days Naruto-san." She told him as the blond nodded with a groan and did his best to sit up.

"You know, you don't have to keep calling me -san all the time." He quipped as she nodded slightly.

"O-okay Naruto-kun." She answered as she noticed him flinch and then shake his head. "I-is something wrong?" She asked as he sighed.

"No… I just…. I haven't been called -kun by anybody besides Koji's mother since my old team died."

"I-if it bother's you th-then-"

"No. It's fine… just a little surprising is all." The blond interrupted as the door opened and Sakura walked back in with Sasuke behind her holding a small bag. "Hey guys." The blond chirped making the girl look to him as she had been talking to Sasuke about something and her eyes widened seeing the boy sitting up on the bed.

"Naruto! Your awake!" She cheered as she rushed over and hopped back into her chair by his bed with a smile. Sasuke just smirked and walked over to stand beside her as he set the bag down on the foot of the bed. "How do you feel? Are you doing alright?"

"Let him breath Sakura." The Uchiha quipped before aiming his smirk at Naruto. "Nice to see you back up Naruto."

"Yeah, nice to be up really. And to answer you Sakura, I feel fine. Just a little sore from lying down the entire time. I'll be good in a day or so., maybe quicker if I run some of Kyuubi's chakra through my system." He answered them before frowning. "What happened after I blacked out? I remember blasting that guy with my jutsu but then I wake up here in bed. What happened with the Invasion?" He asked as the three exchanged glances before Sasuke sighed.

"Well, according to Sakura Gai dropped in having felt your chakra being flared up with Kyuubi before suddenly dropping to practically nothing. It worried him so he hopped down and after seeing what happened he picked you and Kiba up and rushed you both to the hospital as Sakura grabbed and carried me and Hinata carried Kiba's dog. Shino escorted the civilians we were originally escorting to the shelters before deciding to stay with them since he didn't have a team to run through the village with anymore." The Uchiha explained as Sakura and Hinata nodded their confirmations.

"Alright then. Do you know what happened to that guy?" Naruto asked as Sasuke shook his head.

"We don't." Sakura cut in. "Apparently when someone went back to haul him off to prison he was gone so either he left or one of his comrades saved him and left with him." Naruto looked down in thought for a moment before shaking his head and sighing.

"I guess we won't know what happened to him. How about everyone else? And the village? I mean it's clear we won and survived since we're all talking here and now but what about everything else?"

"The v-village only lost a-around a hundred s-shinobi while more were j-just injured." Hinata started as Naruto nodded. "Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama and K-Kakashi-sensei all d-drove off Orochimaru but H-Hokage-sama and Kakashi-sensei fell u-unconscious afterwards."

"Are they alright?!" Naruto jumped in with a worried looked and the girl nodded her head quickly.

"Calm down Naruto. Hokage-sama woke up around half an hour ago and Kakashi-sensei will be waking anytime now." Sasuke told him as Naruto relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know what he'd do if they were killed. "Anyways, as for the village itself it was pretty much all buildings and the like, stuff that can be rebuilt without any problems."

"Alight then. I guess I'll just get out of here and go home then. Could one of you get a nurse?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"They seemed to have bounced back after getting hit like this, eh Itachi?"

"Hn."

"Feeling nostalgic at finally coming home after so long?"

"Hardly. Let's go Kisame."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Three miso please!" Naruto cheered and Ayame grinned as she came around and hugged the boy.

"Oh its so good to see you okay Naruto! Dad and I were so worried about you." The blond smiled and hugged her back before she pulled back and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. The boy blushed but she just giggled and hopped back behind the counter to get to work on his order. "You need to be more careful Naruto. When we heard you took on a biju in the arena I nearly lost it. And then dad said he found out you were in the hospital after fighting off some of the invaders in the actual attack so we were really worried you might've gotten hurt." The boy smiled as he sat down at his normal seat next to the counter and waited for his food.

"You don't have to worry about me nee-chan. I'm the toughest shinobi you know." He bragged slightly as she giggled from behind the counter and poked her head out to smile at him.

"But it's a nee-chan's job to worry about their siblings isn't it?" She teased, happy he was even able to joke with her. It showed the girl that the old Naruto was starting to come back. The one that hadn't been seen since before the massacre.

It had only been an hour since Naruto got discharged from the hospital and the first thing he did was check on his sensei. Seeing no change though he went to see the Hokage and chatted with the old man for a few minutes before his stomach growled and Sarutobi told him to go and get something to eat and maybe come back afterwards if he wanted to. He hinted that Naruto may be given a mission though so the boy didn't make any promises and just told him to hand over the hat before leaving to the mans' chuckles.

As Naruto sat waiting for his ramen he noticed people would point him out from outside of the stand and whisper. Frowning slightly the blond channeled chakra to his ears while pretending to be focused on something in front of him but in reality he was listening on the talk behind him.

"It's him! Yondaime-sama's son."

"I heard he took out one of the giant snakes during the attack."

"Yeah, I heard that too. You know he beat Suna's jinchuriki in his match at the arena? The boy even brought the full demon out but he still lost to Uzumaki-sama."

"Don't you mean Namikaze-sama?"

"Oh right."

"He's kind of cute you know…"

"I still can't believe the demon brat is the Yondaime's kid."

Ayame came back out and noticed Naruto's frown before glancing up to see the other civilians focused on him and whispering. With a sigh she set the bowl down in front of Naruto, snapping him from his thoughts as she stomped around the counter to outside the stand. "You know he can hear you all! Shinobi training and all that!" She shouted making many of the flinch at being caught before hurrying along to return to what they were doing.

"Thanks nee-chan." Naruto muttered as she went back around the counter and grabbed his second and third bowl for him.

"What were they saying?" She asked as he sighed and grabbed a pair of chopsticks to eat with.

"Mostly how I took out one of the snake summons and my match in the arena. But the rest was just 'Namikaze-sama' stuff. I'm happy they weren't hateful 'demon' comments but… I don't want respect just because of my father… I want it for what I've done." The blond admitted with the brunette nodding her head. She and her father had been the only two outside of Koji's parents that he shared his heritage with after the massacre so she wasn't surprised at the Namikaze comment. It had been a little weird for the civilian pair at first to treat Naruto normally after finding out but at his insistence they did and things quickly went back to how they were before he told them.

"Yeah well since you let that slip in the arena apparently, you're going to have to get used to it. I may not be a ninja but I've heard how people mutter about your Uchiha teammate and it's a lot of the same." Ayame told him as he started eating his noodle dish. The boy nodded his head as he knew and understood that himself, he just didn't like it.

"There you are gaki, I've been looking for you!" The boy swallowed the noodles in his mouth before turning his head as Jiraiya came in and sat down next to him. "Hey Ayame." He waved as the girl said hello to the Sannin in return and he went back to Naruto. "I know you're still sore from the Invasion probably and I'm pretty sure this'll piss you off a bit but your needed for a mission. Just you and me." The man told him as Naruto finished his first bowl and grabbed his second.

"Doing?" He asked before digging in as the Sannin shrugged.

"We're going to go looking for my old teammate Tsunade to bring back to the village. Sensei wants to step down from the Hokage position and I don't want the hat so the next choice would be Tsunade. Plus she's need back here to help with the medical things in the village and after that who knows. And if she doesn't want the job then I'd be willing to bet Kakashi will be chosen for it then." He explained before grinning o the boy. "I know you want that hat for some reason but you're still a little young for it. Plus you aren't S-rank yet. You've still got a ways to go before you're ready for that job."

"I know." Naruto started as he set aside the empty bowl and grabbed the third. "While I want that spot even I know I'd be the worst pick for it right now." The blond admitted. "When do we leave for the mission?" Naruto asked as he dug into the ramen bowl to finish it quickly, already having an idea about the answer.

"Right now so finish up." The man told him, confirming Naruto's thoughts. "Ya know, I'm surprised you aren't mad that I'm dragging you along for this mission. I kind of figured you'd say no just because it involves me." The blond shrugged as he ate so Jiraiya shrugged himself. "Whatever. Once you finish go grab whatever you need from your apartment for a long trip since I don't know how long this will take. I'll meet you at the main gate in ten." The man told him before leaving the stand. Naruto slowed down and finished his ramen as he looked at the seat Jiraiya had just been filling.

"He has a point Naruto. I'm surprised you aren't snapping on him about it like you normally would." Ayame commented as he sighed and stood up while pulling out the cash to pay for his ramen.

"Oh I am angry. Without a doubt I'm very pissed off at Jiraiya for a few reasons. But I spoke to jiji before coming here and he was hinting at a mission possibly lined up for me and I promised him that whatever it was I'd do it. This is that mission so I've already trapped myself into doing it thanks to that promise. I just don't see any reason to get angry about it here since that'll just break the place up. I can kick the perverts ass easier once we leave the village so I'm just waiting until then." The blond admitted before leaving, Ayame only being able to sigh at the horrible relationship between the two.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Stop right there." Asuma ordered to two men wearing identical black cloaks with red clouds on them. One was shorter than the other, the tall one even having a large bandaged item on his back. "You two stick out like a sore thumb in those cloaks. And with your chakra levels as high as they are I'm surprised an alert hasn't been sounded. Using the recent Invasion as a way to sneak in was a good idea. Too bad you still got caught." The man spoke as next to him Kurenai was prepping herself to cast a genjutsu in case a fight broke out.

"So it would seem, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuuhi Kurenai." The younger listed off, confusing the two jonin as he turned around and took off the straw hat being used to hide his face. When the hat was removed the Konoha pair gasped in shock as his face was one that was easily recognizable from the Bingo Books. Smooth black hair with deep tear lines on his face as well as the Sharingan in both eyes and a Konoha headband with a slashed leaf symbol.

"Uchiha Itachi!"

"Well it looks like they know you Itachi. I wonder if they know me?" The taller questioned as he also tossed off his hat to reveal spiked dark blue hair as well as a Kiri headband with a slash through the symbol to signify his missing nin status. The strange thing though was his blue skin and gill markings as well as his pointed teeth.

"That's Hoshigaki Kisame!" Asuma gasped as Kurenai narrowed her eyes as she remembered what he was famous for.

"Wasn't he one of Kiri's seven swordsman wanted for attempting to kill Mizu's daimyo and lords before abandoning his village?" She asked as Asuma nodded and Kisame chuckled.

"Oh darn, it looks like I can't do my introduction." He jokingly whined while Asuma was quick to pull his trench knives and Kurenai raised her hands up to cast an illusion. "Well, I don't think the two of you are going to just let us go peacefully are you?" He asked, knowing the answer already and grinning at the prospect of a fight.

"Asuma, Kurenai… this can be avoided if you would just let us go about our way. Neither of you are in our league and you know it." Itachi warned as they scowled.

"Like we're going to let two S-rank criminals go free in our home." Asuma growled as the Uchiha sighed.

"I see. Try not to cause a scene then Kisame."

"Heh, this'll be fun."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Okay I know why you're normally pissed at me but did I do something recently to make you mad Naruto?" Jiraiya asked as the pair was walking down a path outside the village and the younger boy wasn't even looking at the man, instead reading through a book with the Uzumaki spiral on it.

"Yes you did." Jiraiya waited for a second for him to explain but seeing Naruto go back to his book without sparing him a thought he sighed.

"May I ask what?" Naruto sighed and closed the book before stopping and turning to the Sannin with a scowl.

"Because you insist on making an ass of yourself despite the obvious need to focus!" He shouted as Jiraiya seemed shocked and Naruto continued. "I caught sight of you in my run through the village as you summoned a toad to dispatch one of the snake summons during the invasion. Yet instead of moving on to the next foe or rallying the shinobi to begin fighting harder against the invaders you broke into that idiotic and asinine little dance of yours. What the hell is your problem Jiraiya? The lives of people in the village were at stake and you think it's a good time to make an ass of yourself!" The boy berated before sighing and placing a hand to is head. "But you know what? I shouldn't be surprised really. I mean, it's not like you care really so of course you'll waste time goofing off instead of saving lives." The boy muttered as Jiraiya scowled and Naruto started walking again. "The sooner this mission is over the better because I still can't stand you."

"Now listen here Naruto, I know I've fucked up a lot but you know for a damn fact I do care about the village and the people in it." Jiraiya growled as the boy scoffed and opened his book back up.

"You've got a funny way of showing it pervert."

"I get it alright?! I fucked up okay? I know I have. But at least I'm trying to make amends about everything. How long are you going to hold it all against me?" He shouted as he followed the boy.

"How long were you missing? Around ten and a half years? I think you've got another nine to go by my count Jiraiya." Naruto coldly responded before narrowing his eyes. "And I don't care what you or sensei or jiji say about it either; one of these days I'm going to make Iwa pay. I know plenty of the older generation would be happy to join me in it too." The blond growled as Jiraiya sighed.

That had always been a sore point between them, the blonds' desire for vengeance. Jiraiya preached that it was only through acceptance and tolerance that a true peace could be reached among the Nations and people. As such he was trying to get Naruto to give up on his hatred, or at the very least not act out on it. However Naruto would argue that Iwa needed to pay for everything they've done, not just to him but to everyone who had lost someone to their acts. He was just going to be the willing instrument of that village's destruction. Jiraiya had tried pointing out that technically Naruto had gotten his vengeance already when he killed the genin in the massacre and even more by killing the other Iwa shinobi he did. Naruto refused to listen though and said if Iwa's people hadn't taught their children to be sore losers about a war his father had led Konoha to victory in then there wouldn't have been a massacre in the first place and Koji and Sakuya would still be alive.

"Even after seeing the Invasion?" Jiraiya asked as Naruto froze. "That was just a small taste of what you would end up bringing to Iwa. All that death, all that destruction. Innocents getting attacked, shinobi trying desperately to protect their home from an enemy they had likely never had a bad encounter with in the first place. Is that what you want to bring to them? I know you're still in pain over losing your teammates but do you really think killing everyone in Iwa is going to help change that? Help bring them back?" The man asked as Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat that had formed. Truthfully he had even thought in the Invasion that it was wrong. All that senseless death because of one man's anger and jealousy. It wasn't right. Was he really trying to do the same thing to Iwa?

"They… they d-deserve it." Naruto stuttered out as Jiraiya shook his head behind him.

"And does Konoha deserve it for all the people we've taken from Iwa? Or how about the other villages? You aren't the only one to have lost loved ones to other villages for petty reasons like hatred. Konoha has taken others for the same reason so should we pay for our sins? Even though most of the village is likely innocent of the sins they want to accuse us shinobi of?" Jiraiya asked seeing Naruto conflicted. "If you think the answer is yes then maybe we'll never get along after all. I know for a fact that if you ever do this, you parents wouldn't approve. In fact they'd be so disappointed in you now for even planning it." The man admitted as Naruto flinched and looked down. "But if they don't matter to you then ask yourself just one question; would Koji or Sakuya want you to kill off Iwa because of them?" He finished before walking past the boy without looking at his conflicted face. "Come on. You want this mission done with so let's go." He ordered so Naruto silently obeyed.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Asuma! Kurenai!" Gai shouted as he ran up to his two comrades that were both bleeding heavily on the ground. Seeing them he quickly checked to see that they were alive and knelt down by Asuma as he seemed in worse condition but was surprisingly still conscious. "What happened to you both?"

"Uchiha…. Uchiha Itachi…" The bearded man gasped out as Gai frowned. "He's… he's after Naruto… for some r-reason…" He muttered before falling unconscious. Gai's eyes opened in alarm before he quickly picked Asuma up and then placed him over his shoulder while doing the same with Kurenai on the opposite shoulder. Without wasting another second he rushed for the hospital, shocking many that saw him running through the village with the two jonin bleeding on him. Upon reaching the building he ran through the front doors where doctors were instantly swarming him to take the pair and heal them.

"What happened to them?" A doctor asked as Gai had a grim look on his face.

"Is Hokage-sama awake?" He asked and the doctor nodded.

"Yes but what happened here?"

"It would seem Uchiha Itachi is back…. And he's after Naruto." The man uttered as he heard a gasp off to the side and turned to see Sakura reaching out after the blur in blue and black that had just ran out of the hospital.

"Sasuke-kun wait!" Gai knew things had just gotten a lot worse.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Even after all that he runs off instantly because of some random woman." Naruto muttered as he sat on his bed in the hotel room. It had been a couple hours after their argument and the two hadn't said anything to each other since Naruto was struggling with his thoughts on what Jiraiya said while the man was thinking he may have been a little harsh on Naruto. As such they hadn't spoken to each other until they reached the inn at the next town and Jiraiya asked if Naruto wanted to get a separate room or not. The blond didn't care so the man ordered a two bed room and was going to try and connect with Naruto again over a nice dinner when a woman walked by an winked at him. His perverted habit instantly flared up and mentally thinking that he had the entire mission to try connecting with Naruto he had told the boy to just go to the room for whatever he wanted before chasing off after the woman. "Stupid pervert…"

A knocking at the door got the blonds' attention so he scoffed and got off the bed as he walked to the door. "Got ditched that fast pervert? Guess she saw what a bastard you are huh?" The blond quipped as he opened the door to see Itachi and Kisame standing outside it. The blond instantly recognized them both instantly from their Bingo Book profiles and began to sweat. "H-heh… Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame… coming right to my door." He muttered with a nervous chuckle. "I doubt this is to talk about getting in the books like you guys huh?"

"That's correct Naruto-kun." Itachi answered as Kisame grinned.

"On a side note, not bad kid."

"You likely aren't here for something good are you?

"Correct again Naruto-kun."

"That's two for two kid." Naruto thought over his options while making sure not to look at Itachi's Sharingan eyes, knowing if he was caught in a genjutsu from such a high level master of them that he'd never get out.

"I'm guessing you specifically waited until Jiraiya was gone to come near me huh?"

"Wow, three in a row. You do parties kid?" The ex-Kiri nin joked while Itachi just held out a hand.

"We need you to come with us Naruto-kun." The blond knew how little of a request it really was and slowly walked out of the room trying to think of why they would want anything to do with him when he remembered something important Jiraiya had mentioned a month ago.

"You guys… you're part of that Aka… Akatsuki! You're with that Akatsuki group after the biju aren't you?" The boy asked, hoping to get as much information as possible while stalling for time for the toad sage to make it back and help him out of the situation. Both the criminals had their eyes widen before narrowing.

"I see… Jiraiya-sama knows and warned you of our organization. It seems we haven't given him enough credit." Itachi mused as Kisame raised a hand up to the handle to his bandaged sword on his back.

"Yo Itachi, it cool if I take this kids legs off? I mean, you can see in his eyes that he's not planning on coming willingly." The man asked but before Itachi answered he stiffened slightly and turned around.

"So you've come to help your teammate, little brother."

"Itachi…" The genin growled as he stood at the end of the hall to the hallway. Naruto was confused as to why the boy was there in the first place as Kisame quirked a brow up.

"Brother? I thought you killed your clan Itachi?" He asked as Sasuke pulled the sword from his back and it began to spark with lightning. "Well now, the rumors are true. That is Zabuza's old blade. He really did die at Hatake's hands then." He mused as Naruto looked eyes with Sasuke for a single second before the boy charged at Itachi, electrified blade held behind him in one hand. Before he could reach the older Uchiha though Naruto took his chance for escape and quickly spun while shoving chakra into his gauntlet, spilling out a wave of fire that had both S-ranked shinobi jumping back with Itachi taking a second jump to dodge over Sasuke while the boy spun to stand back to back with Naruto. The blond summoned out his weapon and held it at the ready in front of him while Sasuke readied the still sparking Kubikiribocho as well.

"You alright Naruto?"

"I'll be better when they're gone. How'd you know to come?"

"Asuma and Kurenai were brought bleeding to the hospital and Gai claimed Itachi did it and was after you. I rushed out instantly and followed you after you to warn you, maybe even help." The boy explained while Naruto frowned.

"You know we can't win this right now right? We need to hold them off and get Jiraiya here."

"Doesn't mean I won't take my chance if I see one." The Uchiha grunted so Naruto said nothing but stared down Kisame across the hall as the man had taken his sword off his back and was grinning at the idea of a fight. "You take the fish guy, I have personal business with my brother."

"The argument could be made you have business with both, since Kisame was a part of the seven swordsman and you have one of their blades now." Naruto offered while Sasuke growled slightly and the blond shook his head. "Just saying. Besides, with his genjutsu , fighting Itachi is a bad idea for me. Especially when I'm restricted by the area like I am. I'll do my best against Kisame. You try to deal with your brother and we both have to hope that damn Sannin hurries his perverted ass up and gets back here." Naruto told him as Sasuke nodded his head behind him.

"Ready?"

"GO!" The blond shouted as he dashed forward spinning the Kagirinai Buyou in his hands before lashing out at Kisame while Sasuke charged Itachi. The blue man blocked Naruto's slash easily before moving his blade to block again as Naruto reversed the blade's momentum from the move and swung in from the other side, using the Mugen Kureshendo (Infinite Crescendo) style he had taken up that Sakuya developed. Kisame was impressed by the blonds' skill as every block he made was reversed and added to the dual naginata's momentum and turned against him until the only reason he was keeping up with Naruto's attacks was because of his experience and large blade being able to shield most of his body without much trouble.

"Not bad kid. But it'll take more than some fancy moves to best one of the greatest shinobi swordsman alive." Kisame commented before shoving forward with his blade to push Naruto back. The blond grit his teeth and kept a firm grip on his weapon as he skidded back a foot from the man's push. Had they not been in a hallway and confined by the walls he could have spun around the simple move to carve into Kisame's side. However that was likely why the man knew such a tactic would work. Naruto quickly found himself on the defensive as Kisame began to lash out with his own weapon against the blond. "Ya know, if I had the chance I'd actually like to fight you at full power kid. You seem like you'd be fun to face!"

"I'm so glad you approve." Naruto sarcastically growled as he blocked a downward slash with the metal shaft of his weapon and was forced down to one knee as Kisame applied pressure to him. The teen was using both hands to brace himself against the bandaged weapon as Kisame was still only using one hand, showing off the difference in raw strength between the two. Suddenly Kisame's sword vibrated as a strange growling noise came from it and the man grinned.

"Wow. Samehada (Shark Skin) said it can almost taste your chakra already and it smells delicious to it." The man told him as Naruto narrowed his eyes and kept pushing back, not really wanting to know exactly what the man meant about taste, having a very good idea that it would be painful for him if it did.

Meanwhile down the hall Itachi was dodging the electrified slashes Sasuke was making as they carved into the walls and floor. The older man had yet to be hit but had also yet to launch an attack, content with just letting his younger brother swing the sword around recklessly. "Why Itachi?" The boy growled out as he attacked. "What could you possibly want with Naruto?!"

"More worried about your teammate than me?" The teen stoically commented as Sasuke growled and started making one handed signs with his free hand. "That takes some skill little brother." Itachi complimented as the electricity died down from the Kubikiri as Sasuke raised his free hand to his lips.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)!" The teen called as he breathed out a large fireball at the older Uchiha. Itachi quickly leapt back as the attack exploded on the ground before rushing through the smoke and driving a kick into Sasuke's chest. The genin stumbled back and tired to use a counter swing with his sword but it seemed Itachi was tired of letting Sasuke attack him as he ducked low under the blade before shooting up and jabbing a couple pressure points in the boys arm, making him drop the weapon to the ground. Without pause Itachi punched Sasuke a couple times in the chest before kicking him back against the wall and then dashing forward to grab him by the throat and pin him there.

"You've improved. However it is still not enough little brother. Do you know what you are lacking?" Itachi asked as Sasuke gripped his arm and tried to get him to let go. "You lack hatred. Your hate isn't strong enough yet. That is why your sword will not reach me. That is why the gap between us is the difference between the sun and the moon. But," He started as his Sharingan took on a new shape as the three tomoe in it lengthened to make a three pronged shuriken in his red eyes. "Allow me to remind you of why you should hate me." Itachi taunted as Naruto slipped out from under Kisame's blade and saw Sasuke pinned.

"Sasuke!" The blond shouted as he made a couple hand-signs before vanishing as Sasuke appeared in his place coughing and Naruto appeared in front of Itachi and head butted him back. Naruto's quick use of a Kawarimi (Body Replacement) shocked Itachi enough that he didn't avoid the head butt and stumbled back however he was quick to recover and dodged Naruto's slash before kicking his arm wielding the weapon away and punched him hard in the chest. The boy coughed up a small bit of blood as the wind was forced out of his lungs and he folded over Itachi's fist when the elder teen grabbed the blond by his hair and forced his gaze up into his own.

"Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader)" The man uttered as Sasuke looked to see the blond get hit by the strongest genjutsu of the Sharingan. Naruto screamed for a second before slumping down lifelessly while Sasuke grit his teeth in anger.

"Naruto!" He cried as he got up and was about to rush forward when a toad appear and tried to chop Itachi in half with a sword. The S-ranked Uchiha dropped Naruto and jumped away before dashing past Sasuke as he tried to kick him and stopped next to Kisame. From behind the toad Jiraiya walked up with a woman over his shoulder.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice the genjutsu over this woman?" He commented as he set her down and glanced at Naruto to see he was breathing before looking back to the criminal pair. "So Akatsuki is making their move already? Well too bad but I'm not letting you take my godson."

"It seems I was right, Naruto did learn of our group from you."

"That's too bad. We're supposed to be a pretty secret club ya know." Kisame quipped as Jiraiya clasped his hands together and the toad vanished. Both could feel the chakra Jiraiya was generating and while Kisame was eager to keep fighting, Itachi felt it wasn't worth it.

"We're leaving Kisame. Jiraiya is not someone we want to face here." He warned before tossing a smoke bomb between them and when it cleared both Akatsuki members had vanished. Jiraiya kept his senses sharp for a few seconds before relaxing, confident they had left.

"Naruto!" Sasuke's shout reminded the man of his godsons' condition so he turned around to see the Uchiha had turned him over to his back and that the blond was unconscious. He didn't have any marks on him and looked fine but the Sannin knew he wasn't.

"What'd he get hit with?" Jiraiya asked as Sasuke was gritting his teeth in anger at how his brother had struck his teammate, his friend. What's worse was why he was hit with it. He took that attack for him. Naruto threw himself in the way so that he wouldn't be struck with that genjutsu. "Kid, tell me what happened here?!" Jiraiya shouted since Sasuke wasn't listening.

"Dynamic Entry!" The Sannin ducked down to dodge as Gai came flying over his head with a kick. The man landed and spun around to attack some more when he got a clear look at who he had just attacked and relaxed. "Oh Jiraiya-sama! My most youthful apologies! I saw young Naruto-kun on the floor with Sasuke-kun crouched over him and assumed you were the villain that had done whatever it was that caused the blond to be indisposed. Again, my most sincere apologies."

"Don't worry about it." Jiraiya waved off before turning back to Sasuke. "Now kid, you need to tell me just what happened to him. That's an order."

"It's called Tsukuyomi." Sasuke growled out as his own memories of being struck by the genjutsu flared up in his mind. "It's the ultimate genjutsu of the Mangekyo Sharingan. With it, Itachi can torture the victim for three days with their greatest fears in just a couple seconds in the real world." The boy explained as Jiraiya cursed.

"That's not good at all. Naruto's always been bad at genjutsu and now to be hit with one that preys on his fears like that?" The man commented before shaking his head. "Do you think he'll wake up anytime soon?"

"I don't know. Tsukuyomi isn't like any other genjutsu out there. I don't know if he'll wake up on his own at all. I've already tried a release on him and it didn't work either." The boy told him so Jiraiya cursed again.

"Damn… I guess Tsunade is needed now more than ever…"

"Tsunade? Do you mean you're searching for Tsunade-sama?" Gai asked and the Sannin nodded while Sasuke looked up, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Who's Tsunade?"

"Tsunade-sama is the granddaughter of the Shodai as well as a Sannin like Jiraiya-sama here Sasuke-kun. Not only that but she is famed as the greatest medical expert in the entire world as she is a prodigy in the field of medical ninjutsu!" Gai explained as Sasuke nodded.

"Good. Then let's go."

"Whoa there kiddo, who says you're coming with me to find her?" Jiraiya interjected as Sasuke grabbed his sword and put it on his back before turning a glare on the Sannin.

"He took that attack for me! I was the one who was supposed to be struck by that damn jutsu but Naruto butted in to save me and ended up getting hit himself!" The boy shouted before walking right up and staring defiantly at the taller man. "If you think for one second that I'm not coming with you to help find this lady to heal him then you've got another thing coming." Jiraiya stared at the determined boy for a few seconds before sighing.

"Gai, take Naruto back to the village. And let sensei know what happened and that I've got the Uchiha kid with me." Jiraiya ordered as Sasuke smirked. Gai nodded and bent down to pick up Naruto before giving both males a nod and running back to Konoha with the blond. Jiraiya just ran his hand down his face and sighed again before walking off with Sasuke following. "Well , let's get going then. We can't stay here anymore after all."


	22. 22

**hinatasgreatestfan: **Yeah I know you made an entire fic about Naruto taking the Tsukuyomi instead of Sasuke, it's on my favorites list and while it hasn't gotten very far chapter-wise yet I really like that story. Just so you know though, you and I aren't the only one's to use the idea. I've seen multiple fics use it over the years, it's just that not many are good stories.

**Guest: **Itachi will be redeemed, there will be a time-skip to the Shippuden years, and Danzo doesn't really play a part until those years. As for pairings besides NaruHina and SasuSaku, I haven't put much thought into them since I won't be dealing with other characters enough for them to matter.

**Authors' Note: **Okay, a couple major things here that a lot of you commented on so rather than get you all individually I'll say it all at once. First off, the people claiming I'm the first to switch Naruto and Sasuke in the Search for Tsunade Arc; not true. I've read plenty of stories that have done this or where both have gone to get her and such, though the only one worth reading in my opinion is _Broken_ by hinatasgreatestfan. It's not very long as it isn't updated often but it's a very good read and the entire plot is about what would've happened had canon Naruto switched with Sasuke and taken the Tsukuyomi instead while the Uchiha would then go on with Jiraiya to help get his teammate healed.

Secondly, everyone asking if Jiraiya will train up Sasuke to become a toad sage instead of Naruto. Not happening. The most Jiraiya is going to do is offer some help with Sasuke's fire element, maybe a fire ninjutsu as well since Jiraiya can use Katon pretty well. He will not however be taking Sasuke on as an apprentice or teaching him to summon or anything of the sort. Sasuke will not become the next sage or anything at all just because he's on the mission with Jiraiya.

Now onto the chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>22 - <strong>Drunken Dealings

"_Where am I?" Naruto asked as he looked around the new landscape he found himself in. All around him was nothing but black ground while the sky was strangely red with black clouds. The blond also noticed that for some reason he didn't have the Kagirinai Buyou or Kiba no Makai with him._

"_Welcome Naruto-kun, to my __Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader)__." At the sound of Itachi's voice the boy spun around to see the Akatsuki member standing a few feet away from him with a stoic gaze. Growling Naruto leapt at him to attack but never got close as black chains shot out of the ground and restrained him, leaving him lying on the ground glaring up at the Uchiha. "I control everything here Naruto-kun. This is my world, my reality. And your reality is that for the next seventy-two hours you will relive your greatest nightmare." He threatened as the landscape changed to a forested mountainside with rain falling from the skies. Even with the world showing only red and black Naruto could still recognize the three figures standing back to back with each other._

_A younger him with Koji and Sakuya. Surrounding them were multiple Iwa genin, calling for his blood while Koji and Sakuya stood with him, refusing to abandon him. "No…" Naruto whispered as Koji threw down a smoke bomb and the three of them escaped the group while the Iwa genin chased them. "Please no…" Naruto pleaded as he closed his eyes to try and block out what he knew came next. However he suddenly had his eyes forcefully pried open and forced to watch as Itachi knelt next to him and held the blonds' eyes open himself. "Please!" Naruto begged as he shouted._

"_Watch. Watch and see what you failed to protect." Naruto had tears forming in his eyes as he saw himself get knocked down by an earth jutsu just for Koji to jump in front of him to save him from the weapon barrage that followed. The blonds' heart sank in despair at what came next as he watched the younger copy of himself run alongside Sakuya to try and get out of the testing grounds. However the younger him soon tripped, too caught up in Koji's death to watch where he was going. And then Sakuya shoved him out of the way from an earth spike meant to kill him, getting impaled herself in exchange. The blond could only watch as the younger him pulled the girl from the spike as everything seemed to go quiet as he could hear what was being said._

"_I love you."_

_Her last words. The ones that haunted his memories more than any other part of the tragedy that day was remembered as. Naruto screamed his anguish as his own tears fell and Itachi was still kneeling by him making him watch as the younger copy of the blond lost himself to the Kyuubi._

_Suddenly everything was exactly how it was when Naruto found himself in the world and he was looking around in shock. "It's… it's over?" He questioned before finding himself getting wrapped in chains and pulled to the ground while the scene started again._

"_Over? Hardly." Itachi's voice came and answered as he once again knelt next to Naruto and held his eyes open to force him to watch the scene of his teammates dying. "We still have seventy-one hours, fifty nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds to go." The man told him as Naruto screamed._

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"What can you tell me about this Tsunade woman?" Sasuke asked as he walked alongside Jiraiya, the man having been mostly quiet since Gai had take Naruto back to Konoha and he had continued on his search with his new traveling partner. "And besides healing Naruto now, what were you looking for her for in the first place?"

"Well, as you know Sarutobi-sensei is getting kind of up there in years. Plus he's had the longest run of any Kage in history as well." The man started as Sasuke nodded. "He wants to step down now. I don't want the job even though I'm qualified for it and although Naruto may want it he's still not strong enough for it. Plus some may say he's too young even though there's no actual age restriction for the hat. So the first choice outside of me was another Sannin, Tsunade. Naruto and I were sent out to try and convince her to come back to the village and become the Hokage. If she doesn't take the job then odds are either sensei will keep hold of it or your sensei Kakashi will take the spot." Jiraiya explained so Sasuke nodded, inwardly thinking it would be nice to have his sensei become Hokage.

"Alright, but what of Tsunade herself? Why's she been away from Konoha all this time anyways?"

"I was getting to that. Tsunade has some bad memories involving the village so she left around a decade ago to set things straight. She just never bothered returning though. But since she hadn't taken any action against Konoha and hadn't aided any foreign nation either, sensei hasn't listed her as a missing nin and is, or rather was, content to just let her travel and try to get her life together again." The man told him, leaving out her dislike of the village as well as her problems with the Hokage position in general.

"Okay." Sasuke muttered as he thought about what he was told and then nodded. "So hoping she's gotten her affairs in order we can get her to come back pretty easily."

"Hopefully."

"And if not, then I don't care what I have to do, I'll force her somehow to come back just to heal Naruto. Then she can go off and do whatever she wants again afterwards." The Uchiha grunted while Jiraiya scoffed.

"Please kid, I caught your match in the Exams as well as heard the reports from the Invasion. You're good no doubt, I'd expect you to be promoted upon our return even, but you aren't Sannin level. Tsunade may be a bit out of practice as she hasn't had to fight for a while but at most that'll put her down to your sensei's level. Can you beat Kakashi yet?" He asked as Sasuke grunted and shook his head. "Then you stand no chance. And before you say they're both S-rank let me tell ya something, not all S-ranks are equal. Kakashi is good, no damn doubt. But I could kick his ass all over the village any day of the week. Tsunade could too if she doesn't have any rust on her. Hell, the only reason he managed what he did against Orochimaru is because the man was too focused on myself and sensei to pay enough attention to him."

"I got it. That just means I'll have to train harder then to reach that level." He replied as he thought about another S-rank ninja he had to match. And now that man had done even more for him to hate him for by attacking his friend.

"Right. Oh hey, about that what can you do?" Jiraiya asked as Sasuke blinked at the sudden change in topic.

"I've got some fire ninjutsu due to my clan's fame for them while sensei got me started on lightning but I only have one actual lightning jutsu right now and instead can stream the element through my fists and weapons for combat. I'm pretty decent at taijutsu and have the Kubikiri here for kenjutsu. I also have my Sharingan which lets me read and predict an enemies' moves as well as copy their jutsu and cast my own high level genjutsu without any issue." The boy listed off as Jiraiya nodded his head.

"Not bad for a kid only what, six months into his career?" At Sasuke's nod the man grinned. "Yep, definitely not bad then. If you want, I can help you a bit with your fire element since I use that myself. Other than that though I don't think I could help you much other than giving you a sparing partner to train with."

"That's fine, but I'm not here to train. We need to find Tsunade as fast as we can to get back to Konoha. I've been hit with Tsukuyomi before so I know what Naruto's going though right now and he needs to be freed from it as soon as possible. He's living a nightmare right now."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"It's good to have you among the living again Kakashi." Sarutobi told the jonin with a smile as the man put his vest back on and gave his leader a tired eye-smile.

"Thank you Hokage-sama. I'm just glad you're alright though." The man chuckled as Kakashi slipped his sandals on and walked up next to the Kage as they both started to leave the hospital. "What of my students though? Do you know how they are?" He asked and the man nodded again with a proud smile.

"Young Sakura was a little overwhelmed by the reality of the true horrors our lifestyle may bring but Sasuke apparently snapped her out of it and inspired her to train harder to be able to not only survive but defeat those horrors. Both only suffered a few minor injuries from the Invasion." Kakashi nodded his understanding so Hiruzen continued. "Naruto though managed to take out one of Orochimaru's snake summons on his own as well as a few squads of Oto and Suna ninja before he was attacked by a rather unstable teen with a very unique and strange jutsu style. He apparently was losing the battle by quite the margin before drawing on three tails of the Kyuubi and defeating him with a fire element Rasengan."

"So he did finish the jutsu. That's nice, he'd been working on that for a few months now." Kakashi mused before something struck him. "Wait, three tails of chakra?"

"Yes, both Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino were very clear when asked about it as they both saw. Three tails of chakra that he only held long enough to deal the final blow to the enemy before cutting the power and collapsing unconscious, which is when Gai dropped in and rushed him to the hospital after getting a quick rundown of the fight they saw." The man explained as Kakashi shook his head.

"Remind me to thank him later Hokage-sama but I specifically ordered Naruto not to go above two tails for safety reasons." Kakashi told him so Sarutobi frowned.

"I see. We'll have a few words with him when he returns but for now he's out of the village with Jiraiya to try and convince Tsunade to return and become Hokage." The man told him so the jonin nodded as the two made their way to the entrance of the hospital just in time to see Gai rush through with Naruto in his arms. Instantly both the men were at his side as a doctor came forward. "What happened?" The Hokage asked, demanding an answer. Gai frowned as he saw Kakashi was up since he knew the man wouldn't want to hear this.

"Earlier today Hokage-sama Asuma and Kurenai were attacked by Uchiha Itachi, Asuma claiming he was after Naruto for some reason. When I told this to the doctors here so that they could heal the two, I was apparently overheard by Uchiha Sasuke, the boy having been here to see you Kakashi." He explained nodding to his friend at the last part before continuing on with his story. "Sasuke rushed out to confront his brother and try to help keep him away from Naruto. He apparently managed to catch up to the boy and Jiraiya-sama in a village a couple miles from Konoha, where he found Naruto alone and battling Itachi as well as another criminal he was working with. The two did their best to hold them off when Sasuke was pinned and Itachi was about to use Tsukuyomi against him. However Naruto intervened and was struck by the genjutsu himself. Jiraiya-sama showed up and forced the pair to flee which is when I showed up chasing after Sasuke. The boy admitted that Tsukuyomi is the ultimate genjutsu of the Sharingan and that young Naruto here is likely living through his worst torments and fears right now. Jiraiya said he would pick up his search for Tsunade while Sasuke requested to come with to help since he feels responsible for Naruto." The man finished as a doctor came up with a stretcher for the blond to be place on and taken to a room for them to try and help him.

"I see." Sarutobi mused as he shook his head. "Just when we avoid one tragedy another possibly happens. And again Naruto must suffer due to another targeting him." The man muttered as he glanced at Kakashi to see his hands clenched into fists so tightly they were shaking. "Kakashi, I know what you're thinking and no. We'll deal with Itachi when the time comes but that isn't now."

"I know Hokage-sama. But if I ever encounter Itachi…" The man growled before shaking his head and storming out of the hospital. He didn't get very far before he saw Sakura walking up. The second she saw him her face lit up in a smile and she ran over.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The jonin stopped and relaxed slightly at seeing his student as she came up to him. "It's good to see you out of bed sensei. We were waiting for you to wake up."

"I'm sorry for worrying you Sakura." He apologized but the girl shook her head.

"We weren't worried. The doctors said you would be fine and would've woken up soon so we were just getting bored waiting." She admitted before glancing towards the hospital and frowning. "Sensei, earlier Sasuke-kun heard about-"

"I know Sakura. I was just told by Gai himself." The man interrupted as Sakura seemed worried.

"So he's back already? Did he have Sasuke-kun with him?" She asked as Kakashi mentally debated telling her before sighing and deciding it would be best.

"No he didn't, he had Naruto." At the girls gasp he quickly explained. "Sasuke caught up with Naruto and helped him fight off a couple criminals but then Naruto took a very powerful genjutsu for Sasuke and has been unconscious since. Gai brought him back here while Sasuke has taken Naruto's place on the mission he was on."

"Is Naruto alright?"

"He's unconscious right now Sakura but if they can fix the damage the genjutsu caused then he'll be fine."

"And if they can't?" She asked as Kakashi sighed again.

"I don't know."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

A few days passed as the pair traveled, asking around at any city or town they came across for the missing Sannin before the two made it to a gambling city known as Tanzaku Gai. "Well, we'll rest up here for the night and keep searching in the morning." Jiraiya muttered as Sasuke just grunted his agreement. As they walked around Jiraiya noticed a small pub and thinking it over nudged the genin next to him and pointed it out. "Want a bite to eat before we turn in?" He asked as Sasuke shrugged so the two walked over and inside as Jiraiya froze and gaped towards one table with a blonde woman drinking sake. Seeing the man looking to her Sasuke quirked a brow up wondering who she was when he shouted the answer out before he could ask. "Tsunade!"

"Jiraiya? What the hell are you doing here?" She shouted back at hearing her name called and looking up to see who it was. Jiraiya just grinned as he walked over and Sasuke followed as the two took a seat at the table across from the woman and her own apprentice. Tsunade was a blond woman with her hair tied into two pigtails going down her back while at the center of her forehead was a purple diamond. She was also wearing a gray kimono top that was a little tight on her as it strained slightly against her very massive breasts, easily the largest Sasuke had ever seen. The woman's apprentice was a woman with short dark hair wearing a dark blue kimono of her own while holding a pig with a pearl necklace and red vest on. "So, what're you here for Jiraiya and who's the brat?"

"This is Uchiha Sasuke, Tsunade." Jiraiya introduced before smiling slightly. "It's good to see you again hime. You too Shizune, you've grown."

"Thank you Jiraiya-sama, it's nice to see you too." The younger woman responded while Tsunade grunted.

"You didn't answer my question pervert." She growled before taking a drink of her sake as Jiraiya helped himself to a glass and took a drink with her.

"Well I'm here for two reasons actually, both involving you. My spy network had told me you were heading out this way but honestly I didn't expect to see you here. Sasuke and I were just coming in to get a bite to eat before hitting a hotel for bed." He started off before setting his drink down. "One is from sensei and is completely optional, the other is a bit more personal and we will be more forceful here." Jiraiya told her as she narrowed her eyes.

"Optional first." She demanded so he nodded.

"Sensei would like you to come back to become the Godaime Hokage." He stated as she scoffed and poured herself more sake.

"Not happening. Next." She dismissed making Sasuke narrow his eyes but say nothing yet.

"Sensei would like you to come back to heal a few patients that were hurt in the recent Invasion. I'm sure you've heard about it?" He asked as she nodded so he continued. "One of those patients wasn't actually hurt in the Invasion though but a few days ago in an attack and he actually can't be healed by Konoha's doctors. You're the only one skilled enough to do it."

"So one guy got himself hurt too bad, it's not like one is that important anyways." She grumbled as Jiraiya shook his head.

"This one is since he's Konoha's jinchuriki. You know, Minato and Kushina's boy." The man offered as she paused for a second before continuing with her drink and glancing at Sasuke.

"So what's with the Uchiha?" She asked, changing the subject. "I didn't think you were going to take an apprentice again since Minato died."

"He's not an apprentice, just Naruto's teammate who wanted to do whatever he could to help get you back to heal him." The man explained to his fellow Sannin as she shrugged.

"Yeah, well I guess that both of you are going to be pretty disappointed since I'm not going back to that damn village." She told them as Jiraiya scowled and Sasuke's gaze went from stoic to determined. "That place took too much from me."

"Like what?" Sasuke cut in, the woman's attitude starting to piss him off.

"How about my little brother and my fiancé brat?" Tsunade growled as Sasuke scoffed.

"How about my entire clan?" He shot back before shaking his head. "Trying a pity party with me won't cut you any slack here. So you lost two people. I've lost my entire clan. And I know others who lost people too. I don't see them running away from it." He accused as she slammed the sake glass down.

"You wanna run that by me again brat?"

"I said you're running away. I'm willing to bet your ancestors of the Senju clan must be disappointed in you. They were a clan of proud and noble warriors. Our clans may not have gotten along very well before coming together to found Konoha but we respected one another. All the stories of your clan are of proud and strong people that would push past their own pain for the greater good and yet here you are running from it when others have had far worse." Sasuke taunted before getting up and gripping the sword handle sticking over his shoulder. "I could care less if you became Hokage, personally I wouldn't want a coward like you to take the spot. But you will be coming back to heal Naruto and the others. He took that attack for me so there's no way I'm going to let him suffer from it for a second longer than he has to." Tsunade glared at the young Uchiha as Shizune looked fearfully between the two while Jiraiya sighed, knowing that with Tsunade's temper that insulting her or calling her out on her failings was a sure-fire way to earn a beating.

"Brat, I'm going to give you one shot to apologize and take back what you said before I pound you into the ground."

"You're supposed to be the last of the Senju just like I'm last of the Uchiha. You're ancestors are even the Shodai and Niidaime Hokage's, two of the greatest shinobi the world has ever seen. And yet here you are, disrespecting their legacy and blood by disgracing their proud name with your cowardice. You're coming back Tsunade. I don't care if I have to force you to do it either." Sasuke threatened. Jiraiya just sighed and shoved Sasuke back down by grabbing his shoulder and pulling.

"Kid, I told you that even if she's rusty she's still miles above your league." The man scolded while Tsunade and Sasuke were openly glaring at each other now. "Now keep your mouth shut before she breaks it. And trust me, she will break it." The man added when he saw Sasuke was about to retort. The Uchiha grunted before crossing his arms and settling for glaring at the woman. "Now Tsunade, please be reasonable here. I know you've got problems with the village but couldn't you come back just to heal people and then leave again if its really too much for you? I remember that healing others was your passion, your drive. You never seemed happier using chakra than when you were using it to heal. Surely coming back to heal the injured wouldn't be too much to ask now would it?"

"I'm not going back to that village Jiraiya. Sensei should've known that damn well when he first sent you to ask me."

"What about Naruto? Tsunade, you were good friends with his mother and Minato was close to you too. Are you really going to leave their son in pain just because of your own? Don't you care?" Jiraiya asked as the woman scoffed.

"I've never even laid eyes on the boy. And I have no responsibility for him either. Unlike you as a shitty godfather, I'm not the brat's godmother Jiraiya. That was that Uchiha woman Mikoto." Tsunade quipped as Sasuke looked shocked at that.

"Wait, Uchiha Mikoto? You mean my mother was Naruto's godmother?" He asked as Jiraiya blinked for a second before answering.

"Oh yeah you are Mikoto's son aren't you? Well yeah, your mom was made godmother to Naruto since his mom Kushina was best friends with the woman when she was around." He explained before getting back to the matter at hand. "Anyways, Tsunade, you won't come back to be Hokage and you won't come back to heal the injured." He stated and the woman nodded so the toad summoner sighed before reaching into his top and pulling out an envelope from an inner pocket. "Then sensei said to give you this and let you take it how you will." Tsunade grabbed the letter and opened it up to reveal a simple letter that she read over before scowling.

"He can't do this!" She shouted as Shizune looked over her shoulder to read the letter.

"He's going to label you as an S-rank missing nin with a capture on sight order if you refuse?!" The brunette gasped as Jiraiya nodded.

"Sensei is _asking _you to be Hokage, he's _ordering _you to come back to heal the people that need it. Disobeying a direct order from your Kage and refusing to come home makes you a missing ninja that has abandoned their village." Jiraiya declared solemnly as the woman shook in her seat. "I was told to give you one week should you refuse before sending your answer back to sensei. If you refuse, that is what will happen. If you accept, then he'll let you leave again the minute everyone back home is good enough that our regular healers can help them." He explained before looking to Shizune. "I know you're probably going to side with whatever Tsunade decides but sensei wanted me to tell you that you have your own choice to make. The same applies to you only as an A-rank instead of S. Sensei would like you to come home as well Shizune." The woman seemed to sink in her seat as she clutched the pig closer to her chest.

"First Orochimaru and now this…" She muttered as Jiraiya's eyes widened before narrowing on Tsunade.

"What's she talking about?" He demanded as Tsunade tore the letter to pieces.

"Like it matters to you what a _missing nin _does with other missing nin Jiraiya!" She shouted before grabbing the bottle of sake and lifting it to her lips itself instead of pouring herself a cup. "He wanted me to heal someone for him too. Some brat with orange hair he called Juugo. Kid looked burnt beyond all hell and Orochimaru said it was from some 'blasted blond' back in Konoha."

"That's the guy that almost killed Naruto in the Invasion!" Sasuke growled before scoffing. "Hn. Serves him right. Naruto took him down with a Katon: Rasengan and that was the end of him. We thought he died." The Uchiha explained as Jiraiya kept his gaze on Tsunade.

"What did he offer Tsunade?" He asked. "I know you well enough to know you aren't that far gone yet and that you would've attacked him on sight unless he offered something in return. Something you'd want. So what did he promise you Tsunade?" The woman remained silent and sent a glare at Shizune to keep her silent as well so the toad sage sighed. "Remember Tsunade, you have a week. But if you help Orochimaru for whatever reason, as much as it would kill me to do so, I will put you down." He told her before getting up and leaving with Sasuke following him.

"Think she'll accept?" He asked the older man as Jiraiya scoffed but nodded.

"Oh she's going to accept alright. The question is, who's offer will she be accepting?" He asked as Sasuke nodded his head, understanding that was the real problem. Inside though Shizune turned to Tsunade as the woman grunted angrily and took another drink straight from the bottle.

"Tsunade-sama…"

"What is it Shizune?" She muttered as the brunette looked down in thought before standing.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm tired of this. Always on the run from your debt collectors, going from place to place just for you to drink and gamble your life away. I'm sorry Tsunade-sama but at the end of the week… At the end of the week I'm going back to Konoha." She stated as Tsunade's eyes widened.

"You what?"

"I'm sorry. I want to help you get over my uncle's death and your little brothers but you won't and now that we could be labeled missing ninja because of it… I'm sorry but I can't take it anymore." The woman explained before getting up. "I'll be back at the hotel room Tsunade-sama. Please forgive me." She begged before leaving with the pig still in her arms. Tsunade just watched her go before hanging her head in her hands.

'_Nawaki, then Dan and now Shizune… Why can't Konoha let me have loved ones?'_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"H-has there b-been any change?" Hinata asked as she walked into the room to see Sakura sitting by Naruto's bedside like she had been before when he had been in the hospital for his injuries in the Invasion. The only difference this time was that he wasn't wrapped in any bandages but just seemed to be sleeping peacefully with a heart monitor attached to his chest. Sakura shook her head as Hinata took the chair next to her.

"No. He's flinched in his sleep a couple times but that's all. The genjutsu that did this to him… I can hardly believe there's a genjutsu this powerful out there still." The girl muttered as Hinata nodded her head. "By the way Hinata, I've been wondering. Why are you coming here? I mean, I checked and Kiba's set to leave the hospital tomorrow even so why? I remember you said he helped you but he helped a lot of us and I don't see them coming to visit him." She asked while the Hyuuga looked off to the side as she tapped her fingers together nervously. Sakura glanced at the girl before seeing a slight blush on her face. "No way… you like him?" She asked as the blush grew deeper.

"W-well he's s-saved my life t-t-twice already a-and helped with a f-family issue I was h-having trouble with. A-and back at the A-academy he inspired m-me to try harder."

"He wasn't in the Academy with us though Hinata." Sakura pointed out so the girl shook her head.

"Y-yes he was. Remember that l-loud boy in o-orange that w-would c-constantly ask y-you out? Th-The boy that vanished a-after our s-second year?" She asked as Sakura thought back before her eyes widened and she looked to Naruto in shock.

"No way! You mean that loudmouth dobe turned into this?!" She shouted as Hinata held her hands up to quiet the girl down. "Sorry. But seriously? That was Naruto back then?" She asked as Hinata nodded.

"W-we spoke o-over the month before the F-Finals and I f-found out. Apparently e-even he f-forgot. He s-said the after was s-so much better that he f-forgot a lot o-of his Academy days." She explained so Sakura chuckled lightly.

"You know he hasn't asked me out or made a single comment about my 'beauty' or anything romantic in the slightest since we've been placed together?" She commented before shaking her head. "I guess he stopped caring for me like that after spending time with that other girl Sakuya." She mused as she remembered the old Naruto from the Academy and chuckled. "I wonder what Sasuke-kun will say when I let him know." She muttered before turning back to Hinata. "But still, you like him. And here some of the girls in class thought you didn't like boys since you never tried to go after Sasuke-kun." Hinata's blush returned full force at the insinuation as well as teasing while the girl seemed to try and hide in her own jacket.

"W-well I… I mean…" She stuttered out trying to come up with a defense when Sakura placed her hand on the girls' shoulder and smiled.

"Hey, I was just kidding. Besides, I think it would be nice. You two would make a good couple. I mean, under the stuttering you just want to help everyone and you're always kind and respectful. Get past his hate for Iwa and he's just a guy trying to make sure nobody has to live through what he did. I think the two of you would look good together. Plus since he's both a Kage's son and the last of his clan I doubt your clan would really mind. I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to find some legal way to hook you two up either." The girl mused while Hinata sighed, having over heard her father muttering to himself during the exams after Naruto's speech that perhaps he should try to get on Naruto's good side for the betterment of the clan. Knowing him as well as she did that meant trying to sugar-coat the clan's positives while offering the boy something he may want in return for the promise of returning the favor at a later date or a clan alliance of some sort. She may not like it but she knew political marriages were usually used in these kinds of dealings and with her being the same age as Naruto it was a very big possibility.

"I-I hope n-not. I d-don't want t-to force Naruto-kun i-into anything. Besides, I l-like him a l-little but I d-don't know if h-he would like me o-or even w-what he likes in a-a girl." Hinata commented as Sakura shrugged.

"I can't really help you there other than saying that he doesn't like when people only see him for other stuff, like hating him because of the Kyuubi. He also never instantly respected Sasuke because of his clan like the rest of the village does so I'd be willing to be he doesn't like people doing that either." The girl told her as Hinata nodded her head. She could already claim she liked him for who he was and not his parents since she had started liking him before that secret had come out. "But how do you know this isn't just a crush Hinata? I mean, you said it yourself, you don't know him that well." The girl asked as Hinata tapped her fingers together as she thought about her answer.

"I d-don't r-really. M-maybe in t-time as I get t-to know him I won't l-like him like that a-anymore. But r-right n-now I'd a-at least like t-to try."

"Well, best of luck to you Hinata. Personally Naruto needs someone to help him out and maybe you're the girl to do it."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Alright kid, I'll keep an eye on Tsunade so she won't skip town during the week. You can do whatever you want, I'll even give you a shadow clone that can help you with your fire element if you want it." Jiraiya commented as Sasuke grunted.

"No thanks. I'll just do some other training on my own. The clone isn't necessary." He grunted out while Jiraiya shook his head.

"The clone wasn't optional, the help was." He quipped so Sasuke narrowed his eyes on the man getting him to explain. "Orochimaru is after you kid, likely for those special eyes of yours. Since we know he's nearby for his own possible deal with Tsunade, we can count on him knowing you're nearby as well. As such you are not going around alone no matte what you're doing. One of us needs to keep an eye on Tsunade but there's no way in hell you can go it alone. You're kind of like Naruto in that way. He has your brother and that Akatsuki organization after him for the Kyuubi in his gut, you've got Orochimaru and all his servants after you for your eyes." The man joked lightly as Sasuke scoffed in annoyance.

"Wonderful, S-rank criminals after my head. Just what I needed to start the day."

"Yeah, it feels great doesn't it?" Jiraiya chuckled as the two were interrupted by a knocking at the door. Frowning Jiraiya got up and walked over before opening the door and standing aside with a smile as Shizune walked in. "Morning Shizune. Anything we can do to help you today?" He asked as Sasuke merely nodded his greeting and the woman fidgeted slightly before turning to Jiraiya.

"Well I wanted to talk to you Jiraiya-sama."

"About what?"

"The Sandaime's letter." She muttered so Jiraiya sighed and motioned for Sasuke to get up.

"Well come with us. We were going to get some breakfast before we got to work on our own stuff." He offered so the woman left with the two and followed them as Jiraiya led the younger two to a small buffet and paid for the three of them. "So, is this about yourself, Tsunade or both?" He asked as he sat down with some food.

"Both of us Jiraiya-sama." She responded as she sat across from him. "You see, I want to help Tsunade-sama, truly I do. But in all the years since we left she hasn't gotten over my uncle's death or her little brothers. Instead she just drinks and gambles away her families fortune. I want to help her but I don't know how."

"Sounds like she needs an ass-kicking." Sasuke grunted making Shizune gasp at the suggestion while Jiraiya snorted before looking to the boy for an explanation. Sighing the Uchiha gave one. "Look, after my clan was killed I spent every waking second training to get strong enough to avenge them. I just let my hate and grief rule me. Then I made genin and got placed with Naruto. He pretty much kicked my ass whenever I started to get out of line and let it control me. He told me that hate has its place just as grief has its own and letting them run your life isn't where they belong. Now I still want vengeance on my clan's killer and I still miss my family but I don't let that hold me back from doing my duty to the village. Maybe Tsunade just needs a kick in the ass like I did."

"Well, kind of blunt but that sounds like Naruto's way of dealing with things." Jiraiya commented as Shizune shook her head.

"We can't just go attack Tsunade-sama because she's lost in her grief."

"He didn't say that. He just suggested it. Personally I hope it won't come to that but the thing is, should she not agree to come back at the end of the week then that's pretty much what I will be forced to do to her. And I know I can too because despite both of us being S-rank Sannin, I've kept myself in prime fighting shape. From what you said she's been doing Shizune, it's obvious she hasn't." Jiraiya commented before nudging a head to Sasuke. "And while he's just a genin now, that's only because the results to the Chunin Exams got delayed because of the Invasion. I'd expect him to be promoted when we get back and he is pretty good for a kid that age actually." Jiraiya praised before narrowing his eyes on Shizune. "Now you said this was about both of you so what's your side in this?"

"I want to help Tsunade-sama but I don't want to be a missing nin to do it. I've already told her and she hasn't spoken to me at all this morning for it but I've decided that I'll go back to Konoha with you Jiraiya-sama." Shizune told him so he nodded and let out a small smile.

"That's good to hear. And as for Tsunade, well she'll come around. Eventually." He muttered as they ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. When they finished and left the buffet though Jiraiya turned to Shizune. "Do you have any plans for the day Shizune?"

"Not really Jiraiya-sama."

"Then would you mind sticking with Sasuke? Orochimaru wants him for his bloodline so I'm not letting him go around alone. I would leave a clone with him but if you're willing to then I won't have to." Jiraiya asked as Shizune looked down to the shorter boy to see him just shrug as he didn't care either way.

"I guess…"

"Great! Then I'll see the two of you later." He cheered before walking away, though before he was out of ear shot he couldn't help turning around and taunting them. "Try not to have your way with him Shizune! His fan club back in Konoha would go nuts if ya did!" The girl blushed wildly while Sasuke face-palmed at the man's insinuation.

"Fucking pervert. Now I see why Naruto doesn't like him that much."


	23. 23

Hello everybody! The great Shadow-sama has returned for you to bow down and give cash and tacos to! Now worship my awesomeness!

Just kidding everybody. I am back though and hopefully to stay. A buddy of mine has gladly given me his old junk laptop for free while I am still struggling to save up cash for new laptop in this horrible economy while dealing with job issues. I had lost my job a couple months ago which meant all my saved laptop money was done away with for food while I rushed for a new one. Thankfully, I now have a new (at least to me) one so I'm back to saving my cash. Thank my buddy for getting his own new laptop and rubbing my face in it by giving me his old '01 HP. It's slow as hell, can't run any of the online games I play and takes an average 4 minutes to load even a page of fanfiction. However, it has a word program so I can type my stories for all of you fans of mine, thus I is happy.

Kinda...

Anyways, the important news is I'm back in the story business so first some review replies and then onto the new chapter itself. (...which I'm pretty sure a good 80% of you just jumped straight to anyways so I don't know why I bother...)

**Kyukon: **I wouldn't say Tsunade is entirely selfish here. It's more along the lines of being lost in her grief and unlike Naruto who reminded her of her brother and got an arguably positive reaction from her, Sasuke has insulted her, insulted her pride, and called her out on her failings. As such she's not in as much of a decent mood to try and give Jiraiya and his Konoha genin a chance.

**Impstar:** You've guessed somewhat correctly. It won't erase all the progress but it will take away a good chunk of it.

**Hinatagirl0805:** Actually, that's just a fanfiction cliché. People think that since his god_father_ is a Sannin, his god_mother_ must be as well. But that's not true at all. In fact, there's little to no evidence that Kushina and/or Minato ever met Tsunade so why would they trust her to be godmother to their son? Plus Tsunade left the village before Naruto was born which makes it even more unlikely. On the other hand, Kushina was confirmed friends with Mikoto so it makes a lot more sense that she would be given the role.

Anyways, here's the chapter people!

**23 -** Memories and Plans

Kakashi was silent as he stared at the Hero's Stone. He had shown up early in the morning like he did just about every morning and now it was nearing noon but he had yet to move or speak a single word. It would be distressing behavior if not for the fact he did it all the time. His thoughts, like always, were on his various percieved failures. Others wouldn't blame him for any of them, but he did. He couldn't save Obito on the mission to destroy the Kannabi Bridge, though he had been given his Sharingan and had used it since to become a legend. He couldn't save Rin a few months later after her abduction by Kiri. He had gotten her back only for her to throw herself into his Chidori (One Thousand Birds) to stop Kiri's plans for her. Later, he couldn't help keep his sensei alive against the Kyuubi because his generation and the younger were being held back from the fight for the good of the village. And then he couldn't help Koji or Sakuya when they were killed by Iwa, nor could he help Naruto when the boy lost himself to Kyuubi in his grief. And now most recently, he hadn't been able to help Naruto against Uchiha Itachi and now the boy was in a coma with all of their medical experts unable to cure him. While none of the events would be considered Kakashi's fault by others he still blamed himself for them all.

What if he had gone with Obito to save Rin right from the beginning? Would he have survived?

What if he had stopped Rin's abduction when it first happened? Would something have happened to still cause her to choose death by Kakashi's hand rather than life?

What if he had somehow slipped past the barrier his elders and superiors were using and fought against the Kyuubi? Would Minato-sensei or even Kushina be alive today?

What if Kakashi had realized the depths of Iwa's hatred from the beginning and held his team back rather than sending them to the Exams that year? Would Koji and Sakuya still be alive? Would Naruto have even learned of the Kyuubi yet or become the hate driven teen he turned into?

What if Kakashi hadn't been unconscious from helping the Hokage against Orochimaru? Would he have been able to stop or somehow prevent Itachi from targetting Naruto?

These were the thoughts running through his mind as he stood before the carved stone. He knew it was impossible to change the past, but that wouldn't stop him from lamenting his failures or dwelling on the what ifs that plagued his mind whenever he came here. The silver haired jonin remained silent and lost in thoughts even as his trained senses picked up on someone coming towards him. He figured out who it was within a second of the mans' arrival and said nothing. His visitor would understand.

"Hello Kakashi. I see you are still paying your daily respects." Gai spoke as he came up, in a subdued tone rather than his usual boisterous manner.

"Yeah." Kakashi muttered. Paying his respects was the lie he told everyone and while he was sure a few, Gai included, really knew what he was doing he had never been called out on it.

"Is there anything I could do my friend? Anything at all to help?" Gai asked. Kakashi was silent for a few moments before speaking.

"Gai... do you remember what happened after Naruto's massacre in Iwa? Our conversation?" Kakashi asked as the bowl cut jonin nodded.

"Word for word..."

_~(Flashback)~_

_"He's in there Hokage-sama." Kakashi said as he pointed to the door to the hotel room Naruto was in. The old Kage nodded and opened the door to see Naruto sitting on the bed with two black scrolls in his lap and Kairi sitting at the foot of the bed. The ninken had been discovered in the forest with a leg twisted and broken so horribly and bleeding so badly that it had to be amputated to save the animal's life. Kairi hadn't left Naruto's side since waking up from the anesthetics she'd been given for the procedure._

_"Thank you Kakashi." Sarutobi muttered. "Inoichi." He then called, gettin the Yamanaka clan head to nod and follow him into the room while the door was closed behind them, leaving Kakashi standing outside with Gai. The green spandex loving jonin and the blond man had been chosen as the Hokage's guards for his emergency trip to Iwa after recieving both a message from Kakashi and a summons from Onoki the week before. Sarutobi had learned the basics of what had transpired from the messages and then taken one of his strongest jonin as well as a master of the human mind to help Naruto before leaving his village and rushing to the enemies'. Once there he had spoken to Kakashi before being rushed into a meeting with Onoki over the incident. The diminutive Kage had been outraged that Sarutobi had sent a jinchuriki to the Exams without forwarning. Not only that but since Naruto had killed every Iwa participant of them, Iwa would be embarrassed by having none of their own in the finals of the event. They could have canceled them entirely but to do so would proclaim a weakness of their forces. Better to have the slight embarrassment rather than the total._

_Sarutobi had argued with Onoki over what had happened, claiming truthfully that there was no alterior motive to sending Naruto. That the boy had just wanted to earn his promotion with his teammates. Onoki was angry but couldn't do more than he already had, which was confine Naruto and Kakashi to their hotel with Anbu watching them. The Kages then made a small deal to never send their genin to Exams hosted by the other ever again in order to try and prevent any future backlash this one may cause. Onoki had also warned the Hokage that Iwa would be placing the boy into their Bingo Book over this and Sarutobi had sighed but knew he could do nothing to stop that. It was right after that meeting that he returned to the hotel the two were at to check on Naruto with Inoichi there to check his mental state. He would be calling in Jiraiya to check the seal over once they returned to Konoha but for now would have to risk it._

_"Kakashi, my eternal rival, I sincerly hope young Naruto-kun can recover from this. It would be another tragedy if his flames of youth were to be forever dampened by this event." Gai cheered slightly as Kakashi clenched his fists tightly. "Perhaps when we return to Konoha I can bring my genin over for a few joint training sessions or missions to help out. I know for a fact my student Lee would be delighted by the idea of another sparing partner." The green jonin offered as he failed to notice Kakashi's fists were shaking now. "In fact, should we fail to keep Naruto-kun's flames up then I shall personally run around Konoha with three ton boulders on my back one hundred times! And if I cannot do that then I shall swim a thousand miles in under three hours! And if-"_

_"Gai, will you shut the hell up!" Kakashi snapped. "Two of my genin just died and the last one went on a homocidal rampage in his grief! He hasn't even said a single word since it happened! And here you are talking about your damn youth bullshit! Just shut up!" He raged at the man as Gai took the shouting with a solemn face. When Kakashi finished he slowly nodded._

_"I'm sorry Kakashi. I know things are painful right now. I was... was merely trying to help cheer you up my friend." He told him and Kakashi sighed. The thing was he knew that's all Gai really had been doing, in his own way of course. The one eyed ninja shook his head slightly before looking up to his comrade._

_"Sorry... I know you are... It's just..." He apologized, stumbling over the words as he tried to think about what he could say and what he couldn't. He knew the whole reason Naruto had been targeted was because of his close appearance like his father. Had he thought of the hatred Iwa held for his sensei before signing his genin up, he would have seen something like this possibly happening from the beginning. However he hadn't and now two of his students had died because of it. Naruto had paid a price of his own for Kakashi's mistake. Even Kairi had paid for it. "It's just I'm worried about the effect this will have on Naruto." Kakashi admitted, deciding to avoid talking about the why's of the massacre until he got permission from his Kage to mention their entirety and instead worry about what would come. "You know Naruto's not well liked in the village, in fact he's hated by almost the entire population. Koji and Sakuya were the closest to him. Koji was his brother figure and I know he had feelings for Sakuya. They died in front of him though and he lost himself to Kyuubi. He's never even used Kyuubi before, he didn't even know about the demon." Kakashi admitted as Gai nodded to show he was getting at what Kakashi was getting at. "I don't know if Naruto will ever recover from this and I'm afraid of what he'll be like if he does."_

_"Then it will be up to you, as his sensei and closest remaining confidant, to make sure Naruto-kun can return from the darkness he has been thrown into. You will be his solid rock Kakashi. You are likely going to be the only one that can pull him back from this when we return home." Gai told him and Kakashi nodded, knowing it was true._

"I still remember all of it Kakashi, including that the first words Naruto-kun spoke after the massacre were the ones that made his promise to destroy Iwa. And from what you mentioned during the Finals, he has yet to give up on that promise either." Gai noted.

"Yeah. I'm worried again... worried that with whatever mental torment Itachi has put Naruto through with that genjutsu of his... I'm worried Naruto will snap back to that dark and hateful kid again." Kakashi admitted. Gai nodded his head and placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder as he gave him a small smile.

"Then my advice is the same as it was then Kakashi my friend. You will have to pull him back from it. You've done it once already, and this time you won't be doing it alone but will have young Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan to help you bring him back. He admitted it himself that they were important to him, just as you are."

"I know, and that's why I hope your right."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Wow. You're really strong Sasuke-san." Shizune praised as she and Sasuke were walking back to the hotel he and Jiraiya were staying at. She and Tsunade were staying at another and she'd return after making sure the younger teen got back to his own. It wasn't that he was young or untrustworthy but because Orochimaru wanted him and was in the area. Sasuke knew this which was why he wasn't protesting the escort or 'babysitting'. He wanted nothing to do with the Snake Sannin and if having a guardian with him was going to help his chances of staying free of the man then he was okay with accepting one.

"Thanks, but I still need to work on my arm strength. When I saw Zabuza use this thing he was swinging it around faster than this. I may be fast compared to most of my generation, but compared to the people I need to face I'm still too slow." He stated, remembering how despite the blade and his skill, his brother Itachi had simply sped right by him. He needed to get faster, especially with his sword which meant getting stronger so that he could swing it faster.

"I guess. Still, for a chunin hopeful you're really good. Be proud of what you currently have as well as setting goals to reach." The woman offered, getting the boy to nod his understanding. The two finished the walk in silence before reaching the room Sasuke was staying in. Opening the door though showed Jiraiya was already sitting there writing something in a small notebook.

"Oh, you're back. Good." He muttered as they walked in. "I take it the training was alright?" He asked as Sasuke grunted and Shizune gave a small smile. Jiraiya looked both over before smirking. "Hey kid, ya hungry? I was going to head out for some food soon."

"I'm fine."

"Shizune?"

"I'm alright Jiraiya-sama. Thanks for offering." The Sannin shrugged his shoulders before closing his notebook and putting it away. "Did you talk to Tsunade-sama?" She asked as his smirk dropped into a scowl.

"Yes and no. Does asking to join her for a drink for a simple conversation and getting my face punched in count as a talk?" The man rhetorically asked getting Sasuke to smirk as he found it a fitting payback for the man's perverted crack at him and Shizune as they seperated to go train. The woman on the other hand gasped and started fussing over the Sannin while asking if he was alright. "Shizune, I'm fine." He complained as he waved her off. "As nice as the attention of a beautiful young woman like yourself is, right now it's not needed. I'll be alright. Tsunade's hit me harder than today on plenty of occasions. This was practically a kiss compared to the other beatings she's given me." He joked before standing up. "I know you're pretty sure Tsunade's angry at you for telling her you'll pick Konoha over her but honestly I think you should go talk to her right now. Explain your choice and what it would mean for her if she came back with you. I'll try talking to her again tomorrow so don't worry about it all right now. We've still got until the end of the week."

"If you're sure Jiraiya-sama." The woman muttered before heading out. The Sannin merely turned to Sasuke before jabbing a thumb at the door, meaning to gesture for Shizune.

"So what d'ya think of Shizune there kid?"

"What do you mean? She's pretty strong and showed some pretty good medical jutsu to heal her arm after I managed a cut on her. What's to get?" Jiraiya sighed and facepalmed himself as he shook his head.

"God kid, you're as dense as Naruto was when I first met him."

"No I'm not. I knew what you really meant. I just felt it was beneath me as an Uchiha to give any kind of answer like that."

"What? Now you're playing the clan card here? Low blow kid, I'm from a civilian family." Sasuke shrugged at the Sannin's antics as he found them mostly just annoying and Jiraiya sighed again before dropping them as he saw that the teen wsn't going to play along. "Anyways, while I may not have actually spoken with Tsunade, I did keep an eye on her and spoke to a couple of my spy contacts here in Tanzaku. They confirmed that Orochimaru is in fact nearby and that he met with Tsunade while being accompanied by some silver haired teen carrying, and I quote: 'the most burn covered excuse for a human ever seen'. After their talk though the snake and his buddy vanished and Tsunade pretty much hit the pub we found her in and just drank the rest of the day away." Sasuke nodded his understanding as Jiraiya opened his notebook back up and drew something before biting his thumb and streaking blood across the page. He gave it a second before tearing the page out of the book and handing it to the young Uchiha.

"What's this?" He asked as he looked over the paper to see a glowing red seal on it.

"Just a little precaution. That is a one-time usage summoning array for a battle toad. Just pump in a good amount of chakra and slam it on the ground and you'll get a toad like the one I summoned to scare off Akatsuki. I'll also instantly be notified if it's used so if we're separated and somehow Orochimaru or his goons get to you, use it to get back up and alert me. I'll come running and the toad should be enough to hold them off long enough for me to get there." Jiraiya explained so Sasuke shrugged and put the paper into his pocket before stretching out on the bed. "Alright then, I'm gonna go get some food. You sure you don't want anything?" He asked so Sasuke just waved him off and the Sannin left.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Tsunade-sama? Are you here?" Shizune nervously called as she entered the hotel room the two women shared. However her blond master was nowhere to be seen so she sighed and walked into the room to clean up from the day's sparing with Sasuke. Heading into the bathroom and stripping herself of her clothes and the senbon launcher around her forearms, the young woman turned on the water to the shower and stepped in as she thought about how to talk to Tsunade about her decision. The night before she simply told her she was tired of running and that while she wanted to help Tsunade, the woman herself wasn't taking any. In essence, Shizune was practically taking care of Tsunade as all she did was gamble and drink away her families fortune with Shizune there to pick and clean her up afterwards. Their money was almost all gone as well, there certainly wasn't enough to pay back all of Tsunade's debts that she had built up from gambling and then refusing to pay and instead fleeing.

Looking back at what had been going on since leaving the village and at where things looked like they'd be going if they continued on the same path, Shizune honestly couldn't see herself having any happiness in her life. Never having a place to stay. Never staying long enough to settle down. Never having any chance for romance past a one-night stand. Nothing. As things were Tsunade called the shots but it was already showing how poorly the woman had picked. That's not even including the ultimatum Konoha and the Sandaime were leveling at her to return. If Tsunade refused this time, then Konoha was going to label her a missing ninja and Jiraiya himself was going to fight to bring her back. If it came to that, Shizune knew the village wouldn't let Tsunade leave once she healed the patients they wanted healed. She'd have been labelled a criminal and would be forced into a prison cell or house arrest if she got some leniency. And that was if Jiraiya managed to subdue her. If he didn't then Tsunade was going to be forced to stay on the run forever as not only would Konoha want her but the protection from other villages that their name granted would be gone. Other villages would be free to hunt her down without reprecutions and combined with Konoha's own hunters and Tsunade's debt collectors, the woman would never know peace again.

Without Shizune there to try and help her through any of it.

Shizune was quite serious about her choice to return to Konoha. At the time of the deadline, should Tsunade choose to run, she wouldn't raise a finger against her but neither would she help her either. Shizune still loved the village and didn't want to give it any reason to turn on her. She had originally agreed to leave with Tsunade because she thought the woman would only need a couple years at the most to get over her problems with it and return. She treated it like an extended training leave. However when the years continued to stack on top of one another and Tsunade continued to run from her fears and problems rather than face them Shizune had been getting more and more depressed about the chance to get the woman back home. She could have left for Konoha herself at anytime, but without Tsunade it would've felt like a very hollow homecoming.

Stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel to try off Shizune sighed at how her thoughts were running before hearing the door to the hotel room open. "Tsunade-sama? Is that you?"

"Yeah." Came the subdued reply. Shizune wrapped the towel around herself and stepped out of the bathroom to get dressed into some night clothes as she noticed Tsunade tossing off her green jacket and sitting down on her bed. The blond woman had a sake bottle in one hand as she also refused to meet her eyes when she'd glance over at her apprentice. Inwardly grimacing at how far and how fast things seemed to have fallen apart between them, Shizune quickly got dressed before sitting on her bed across from Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama... we need to talk." Shizune started as the blond raised her head and looked Shizune directly in the eyes for the first time since entering the room.

"...Yeah... I think we do Shizune."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Hinata-sama, Hiashi-sama wishes to see you." A branch member of the Hyuuga clan said as the heiress returned from training with her team. The girl thanked the man as he bowed and walked off to return to his tasks as Hinata fidgeted in place before walking to her fathers office. She paused outside the door and was about to knock and let him know she was there when his voice called for her to simply enter. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her as she went and sat before her fathers' desk.

"F-father." She greeted stiffly, worried about what this meeting was about. The man finished the sheet of paperwork he was on before raising his head to gaze on his daughter with his own eyes, thankfully Hinata noted, with the Byakugan unactivated.

"Hinata." He started before setting his pen down. "It has come to my attention you have visited the Namikaze boy during his recent stay at the hospital and have continued to do so after he was placed within it once more." Hinata inwardly flinched at her father's business tone. As well as the apparent topic. She was worried something like this may come up ever since she visited him after the Exams.

"Y-yes."

"Why?" His simple response made her blink for a moment as he had yet to tell her what he wanted her to do.

"I... I'm not e-entirely sure. He h-helpped me on multiple o-occassions a-and..." She stuttered as Hiashi tilted his head slightly.

"Tell me Hinata, do you have feelings for the boy?" This time Hinata did flinch at his direct question straight to the heart of the matter. "I'll take that as a yes."

"I'm not... I mean m-maybe. I d-don't know him well e-enough to really s-say. He's handsome a-and strong b-but I don't know i-if I really l-l-like him th-that way right n-now." The girl explained as Hiashi nodded.

"I see. I asked because some of the elders discovered you visited him and wanted to know the reasons behind it. Some dislike the boy and want you to stay away from him due to his jinchuriki status. Others want you to get close to him in the hopes of having access to the Namikaze and Uzumaki wealth." The man told her as she nodded, having expected the latter from the beginning of the conversation and only finding the former to be slightly shocking.

"A-and you?" She asked.

"I'm admittedly divided. I would like to strengthen the clan through his parents' fortunes. Yet at the same time I am unsure if doing so would truly be for the best." Hinata inwardly sighed thinking she was going to be forced to try and marry him. "You said you are unsure of your feelings right now correct? That you don't know him well enough to be sure?" He asked and she nodded. "Then continue as you wish. If you decide to pursue him you shall have the clan support. If not, then there are other ways to strengthen the clan without him."

"F-father?" Hinata was confused. Was her father really not forcing her to do anything? Was he really just telling her to do what she wanted? Hiashi gave a slight smile before looking back to his paperwork and picking up his pen.

"Marriage is forever Hinata. As hard as I push you for both your sake and the clans, I wouldn't force you to be with someone you did not prefer yourself. So go ahead, spend time with the boy. Get to know him better and sort out your thoughts and feelings about him. If you fall in love with him then know that you have my blessing. If not then there will simply be others for you to pick from eventually. So long as the boy does nothing to hurt you or the clan then I nor the elders will interfere, I promise."

"Th-thank you father."

"Think nothing of it. You're dissmissed Hinata." The girl smiled as she stood up and left her fathers office, happier knowing that her father wasn't going to force anything on her and that he did care for her.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Can I join you for a drink this time Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked as he came up to sit next to her at a bar. It was now the last night before the deadline, both for Konoha's ultimatum and Orochimaru's offer, though Jiraiya knew nothing about the latter. Shizune had spent the two days training with Sasuke at Jiraiya's request while the Sannin himself had left Tsunade alone during the time, merely keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't bolt or meet with their old teammate.

"Go ahead." She muttered in reply so Jiraiya sat down next to her and motioned the bartender for another bottle and cup. Tsunade was silent as she took another drink and slammed it down her throat before refilling her cup. "So..."

"Yeah..." Jiraiya filled his glass and took a drink before replying. "Have you made a decision Tsunade?" He asked, deciding to get right to the point. The woman grunted with a small nod so he sighed. "What is that decision?" He asked as merely knowing she did didn't tell him if it was favorable ot not.

"I've got until tomorrow, you'll find out then." The man shook his head before taking another drink. "So Minato and Kushina's boy really took an attack for that Uchiha kid?" She asked and he nodded. "Hmph, just like his parent then. Always jumping in to save the day..."

"Kind of. He's different from them too." Jiraiya told her. "Minato couldn't hold a grudge to save his life really. Oh you could get him mad about something, especially if it involved Kushina being threatened, but once he took care of the problem and calmed down he wouldn't care one bit about what happened. Kushina was pretty much the same way. But Naruto... he's refusing to let go."

"Holding a grudge isn't such a bad thing Jiraiya. I still hate you for all the perverted shit you've pulled over the years and I never plan on forgiving it." The woman muttered and Jiraiya shook his head.

"That's not what I mean. That sort of stuff I can deal with. It doesn't really change anything. Naruto though, what he wants could change the world. And not for the better either. I'm pretty sure the only thing that's kept him from rounding up some of the older jonin with a grudge and charging Iwa is that he knows he's not strong enough to win that fight. That and sensei has been using his authority as Hokage to put a stop to it. But Naruto wants the hat too, and if he gets it and hasn't given up on getting his pound of flesh from Iwa then he may try and use the slightest encounter between the villages as a reason to declare war." Tsunade merely grunted and took another drink as Jiraiya shook his head. "But that's not really what's important here. What's important is your choice. If you come back then sensei and Kakashi can keep the kid calm. If you come back as Hokage then you can worry about it too. But if you decide it'd be better to go rogue, Tsunade I really-"

"I know Jiraiya. You'll fight and beat me, despite how much you don't want to." She interupted as she refilled her glass. "It's not like I haven't thought all of this through, even after Shizune spoke with me and said she's going back to Konoha with you regardless." The woman shook her head and took a drink before sighing. "I've gone over everything that's been said and made my choice. Come tomorrow, I'll have to live with it. But for now, let me lie with my sake Jiraiya." The man stared at her for a moment before silently nodding and turning back to his drink.

"Am I allowed to stay and think back on the good old days with my old teammate?"

"I haven't told you to beat it yet, have I?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Sasuke grunted slightly as he woke up the next morning and stretched his arms above his head. With a quick glance to see Jiraiya hadn't returned to the room the teen got out of bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower and wake up for the day. He knew today was the deadline for Tsunade's offer and while he knew he was no match for the woman, he was still going to try his best to help Jiraiya subdue her and drag her back to the village if she went rogue. Naruto needed the help.

It was just as he finished getting dressed from his shower when there was a loud knocking at the door. Sasuke placed his blade on his back with chakra and answered to see Shizune holding up Jiraiya. "What happened?" He demanded as he stepped back and let the woman bring the slightly stumbling Sannin into the room.

"Tsunade slipped me something when we were drinking last night. I passed out and came to just an hour ago. My chakra's shot to hell and Tsunade was nowhere to be found. I think we've got our answer kid." Jiraiya growled out as Shizune set him down on the bed. The woman then ran to the bathroom to fill a cup with water and added a couple smal pills before handing it back to the man.

"Here Jiraiya-sama, this should help." The man took the drink and quickly downed it before grimacing at the taste of the pills and setting the cup to the side. "I can't believe Tsunade-sama would do this. She told me last night before she left to drink that she had decided to reutrn to Konoha." The woman muttered and Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"She did? You're a hundred percent sure about that?" She nodded and he glanced to Jiraiya. "Then why would she poison him?" The woman struggled to think of a reason as Jiraiya suddenly growled.

"I've got an idea and she's a damn fool for taking it!" He quickly stood before slightly clutching his stomach and shaking his head. "Damnit. Shizune! Do you know where she was meant to meet Orochimaru?"

"Why?"

"She's planning on taking out that snake before making her own homecoming!"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"So you've come Tsunade. Did you decide to heal young Jugo for me?" Orochimaru asked as he had on armed crossed over his chest holding the other by the elbow. Kabuto stood a few feet to his side holding the burnt teen in his arms while Tsunade was walking over with her eyes locked on him.

"I figured I'd at least see if I can heal him first." She replied so Kabuto gently laid Jugo on his back on the ground before stepping back while Tsunade knelt next him. Orochimaru took a spot next to her and watched in interest as she made a couple hand signs before placing her glowing green hands on Jugo's chest. The woman closed her eyes for a moment and ran her hands up and down the burnt teen's form before letting out a low whistle. "Wow. Minato's kid did all this with one jutsu?" She asked as Orochimaru growled.

"A flaming Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere) if my understanding is correct." He replied quietly. The blond woman nodded to herself before she started listing off everything wrong with the teen.

"You've got multiple broken bones that were recently mended, I'm guessing by your little helper here, as well as burns ranging from first to third degree in intensity all across his body. The burns even go down to the cellular level and have damaged his nerves and internal organs. I can tell someone tried their best at healing him but all they managed was stabilizing him this far. If the damage isn't repaired then this kid will never know a moment without pain again, let alone try to continue ninja work." Tsunade summarized as Orochimaru growled again at hearing how badly Naruto had destroyed one of his best tools. The woman smirked at the noise before glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. "Calm down Orochimaru, I can fix this up no problem. It'll just take a couple hours." She told him so the Snake Sannin smiled.

"Excellent. And once Jugo is back to his former self, I shall uphold my end of the bargain and return your brother and fiance to life for you." He admitted before tapping his chin with one hand. "Have you thought about who you shall offer as the sacrifices the jutsu required? Or were you simply going to grab a couple random people off the streets? It works better with strong chakra intense bodies you know."

"Oh I thought about it alright. I even decided on who to use." Tsunade admitted as she made another coulple hand signs and looked back to Jugo. Orochimaru's smile was nearly as large as his face before he was suddenly spitting up blood as Tsunade had spun around and punched him in the gut. The man flew back from the force of the blow as Kabuto leapt to attack Tsunade in face of her double cross but the woman was ready and snapped her leg out to kick him back. As Orochimaru picked himself up from where he landed Tsunade stood herself and tossed aside her green jacket and cracked her knuckles. "How about you and your little pet medic you bastard?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

**Authors' Note:** And that's that everyone! I am officially back in business! In addition to this chapter I'm also putting out a chapter to my Shinku Akuma story and a brand new story as well called _Infinite Stars_ which is a Naruto/Star Wars crossover in which Naruto is a Sith Lord and Sasuke is a Jedi Master. If that interests you then go check it out.

So thanks and please review and favorite!

PS: The Hiatus Notice chapters will be deleted in about a week or so.


	24. 24

**NARUTO-GAARA-AWSOMENESS:** Naruto does understand Jiraiya had a duty to the village. However, the fact the man not one ever checked up on him, plus how he acts all the time really hurt Naruto and get on hsi nerves. It doesn't help that Jiraiya first jumped into his life after a major tragedy and tries to act like it's okay he was never there for him.

**Fan:** Sasuke will not be getting the Curse Mark in this story, ever. That's one of the major changes from canon here. And yes, eventually Naruto and Kurama will come to terms and won't be against each other like they somewhat are now.

**wacko12:** You'll find out Jugo's fate this chapter. As for the Futon: Rasengan and Rasenshuriken, yes to the first ad I'm not sure to the second. Since he has a Katon Rasengan and uses two elements it makes sense that he'd eventually create the Rasegnan for his other element. But the Rasenshuriken is an advanced jutsu Naruto made based off the Rasengan with what skills he had. My Naruto is far stronger than canon so he may or may not make the Rasenshuriken but instead a different wind jutsu with those principles. Not sure yet. And I described what the Kagirinari Buyou looks like in the first chapter it appeared in, which is 09.

Anyways, sorry this took so long everybody. I got caught up in my other stories, including three new ones so go check those out if they interest you. But here's the next chapter, covering the end of the Tsunade Retrieval arc and a bit of what first happens back in Konoha. Only a few more chapters before I'm finished with part 1 of the storyline. So enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>24 - <strong>A Sannin's Return

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto cried out as the snake Sannin was again smashed into the ground only for him to melt into mud.

"Worry about your own ass kid!" Tsunade shouted as she appeared infront of the younger medic with her fist cocked back. The silver haired teens' eyes went wide as he leapt back, just in time for Tsunade's fist to graze by him and instead strike the ground. The crust of the earth split and fissured from the impact of her attack as the shockwave from it was enough to send Kabuto flying away at high speeds, almost as if he had been hit himself. When he finally stopped skidding along the ground Orochimaru appeared next to him holding a kunai in one hand while the other was clenched into a shaking fist as he growled at how the battle was going.

Since Tsunade's sneak attack on him she had only managed one more hit on him, the rest have been against clones. Kabuto hadn't been hit at all outside of the original kick thankfully since all three knew one strong attack would be all it would take to kill him. On the other hand though, Orochimaru had cut Tsunade multiple times. However she had healed them right up in a second and continued fighting. Had it been his Kusanagi blade and not a mere kunai then the poison on the blade would've been crippling to her, as she would've been forced to slow down and counteract it or risk death. The kunai on the other hand was not poisoned in any way, shape or form. It was exactly what it appeared to be. And while normally it would still be enough for Orochimaru to kill Tsunade, as he was better than her due to the woman slacking off in her training, the snake Sannin wanted her alive to heal Jugo. And to suffer for daring to betray him. Tsunade knew this and had been taking advantage of it.

He wanted her alive, she couldn't care less if he died.

"Come on Orochimaru. I know I've slipped since the glory years but shouldn't this be a bit harder? I'm not even warmed up yet." The woman taunted with a smirk as the white faced man growled again.

"Don't mistake my mercy as a weakness Tsunade. I merely see more use for you alive and capable of working jutsu than I do for your corpse." He fired back as she snorted.

"I know, why do you think you've been holding back?" Again she felt the need to taunt him! The genius of the Sannin was inwardly seething while he let only a slight anger and annoyance show on his face. He had to kill her in the most painful way posible after her use was up. It was the only way to avenge this humiliation!

"Kabuto, take a step back." Orochimaru ordered as the teen nodded and obeyed. Running through a few signs, that Tsunade caught and mimicked both slammed their hands on the ground in an instant, only then noticing the third figure's arrival and usage of the same.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" Three voices called out with extremely large bursts of smoke. When the smoke all cleared there were three very large animals staring each other down, their respective summoners standing on their heads and adding to the mix.

"Looks like I showed up just in time for the main event. Wouldn't you say?" Jiraiya asked with a smirk as he stood on a tall red toad with a blue vest on and a pipe in his mouth. "Hey 'Bunta, mind helping me kill a couple snakes?"

**"Heh, why not? I've been wanting a snake skin wallet." **The toad boss rumbled back with a grin.

"It's been a while since all three Sannin have been together with their boss summons." Tsunade mused before shaking her head. "Katsuyu, I'll be needing your help here." She told the large slug she stood on, the slug itself being pure white save for a single blue stripe that ran down its back.

**"However I can be of assistance Tsunade-sama."**

**"I told you never to summon me again Orochimaru!"** The snake growled to the man on his head. The snake itself was a deep purple in color with a few black stripes down his length.

"My apologies Manda, but I felt the situation required only your might. Don't worry though, I'll give you double the sacrifices later as recompense." The man promised as the snake grunted and turned its attention to the two summons across from it. Orochimaru even chuckled before raising his voice so that Tsunade and Jiraiya could hear him. "Isn't this nostalgic? All three Sannin, together again on the field of battle. I'm almost wishing for Sarutobi-sensei."

"Yeah, the trip down memory lane is real nice Orochimaru. I'm only sad it'll never happen again after this." Jiraiya shot back with a scowl.

"That's right, because as of today the Sannin are no more! I declare it on my name as the Godaime Hokage!" Tsunade shouted as Jiraiya and Orochimaru both turned to her in shock before the toad Sannin smiled.

_'Good choice hime.'_ He thought before turning his attention back on the surprised snake Sannin.

"And for my first order, death to a traitor!" Tsunade continued as Katsuyu rushed in, Manda pulling back in reaction and Gamabunta drawing the giant tanto at his waist.

The battle of the Sannin had begun.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Well now, that was unexpected." Kabuto mused as Katsuyu and Gamabunta were summoned. "Now that Jiraiya's here the battle is definately not in Orochimaru-sama's favor. I don't think we'll be able to get Tsunade alive anymore." He muttered before his senses alerted him to an attack and he jumped away to avoid the senbon needles that embedded themselves in the ground where he just was. "Hm, I guess the apprentice of one Sannin will have to deal with the apprentice of another." The purple clad ninja sighed out before turning to face Shizune and being surprised at the other he saw with her. "Well now, if it isn't little Sasuke-kun."

"Kabuto?" The Uchiha asked as he held the Kubikiri out in front of him, one eyebrow raised in a questioning manner. "What the hell are you doing here with Orochimaru?" He asked as the older boy adjusted his glasses on his face with a slight smile.

"Take a look at my headband Sasuke-kun. I'm an Oto ninja. Have been for a long time now. Since before I met you even."

"What about Naruto? You know he counts you as a friend." The genin growled as Kabuto sighed.

"I'll admit I was a spy before I met him and that I've even enjoyed the boy's company. It was easy to befriend him after the Massacre he pulled in Iwa. Originally I was to get close to the team and see if I could recruit them to Orochimaru's side but then two died and the last almost went insane. A situation like that made it very easy to get close to him and get him to trust me. That I enjoyed the boys company was simply a bonus in the grand scheme of things. But in the end, my loyalty has always been to Orochimaru-sama. I've been feeding him inside intel on Konoha for years. In fact, I'm the one that sent Jugo after Naruto. I honestly thought the teen would be able to beat him, but apparently Naruto's been hiding things from everyone, even his friends. That Katon: Rasengan of his is a real beauty isn't it?" He asked as he finished explaining the deapths of his treachery. Sasuke tightened the grip on his sword as he glared at the older teen, Sharingan ablaze in the hate he currently held for the traiter.

"I'm going to kill you."

"Oh now don't be like that Sasuke-kun. Tell you what, if you promise to join Orochimaru-sama I know he'll help you get strong enough to kill Itachi. Konoha is only holding you back you know."

"That's not true. They're just showing me there's more to life then the vengance I want to get for my fallen clan." The Uchiha retorted. "Besides, I'm not about to jump into bed with that snake. Who knows what kind of experiaments he'd use me for?" He commented as Kabuto sighed again and drew a kunai.

"Well, can't say I didn't try. Guess I've got my own capture in a two against one to make." He muttered to himself before jumping back as Sasuke charged and swung down with his sword. The silver haired teen was quick to aim a stab at the Uchiha but Sasuke twisted the sword into position to block before channeling lightning through it, making Kabuto grit his teeth and pull back as the shock traveled through the kunai he held into his arm. "That lightning element of yours is going to be a problem."

"Glad to hear it! Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Phoenix Sage Flower Technique)!" Sasuke cried as he ran through one-handed seals and launched multiple small fireballs at the traitor. Kabuto began to dodge and flip further away until he noticed Shizune standing to the side making seals of her own.

"Ninpou: Dokugiri (Ninja Art: Poison Fog)!" The woman was quick to breath out a purple fog that was quick to cover Kabuto, the teen covering his mouth and nose in the process to avoid breathing the airborne venom. However he then noticed Sasuke smirk and fire one more fireball at him, directly into the smoke. The reaction was instant as the fire ignited the poisonous cloud and caused a large explosion. Shizune smiled at the combo while Sasuke kept up his smirk as he held his sword by his side. "Good work Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah. He was easier than I thought."

"That's disappointing that you think so. After all isn't it obvious a spy would hide his true skill level?" Before either could react Kabuto shot out of the ground with glowing blue hands and struck Shizune on each of her ankles. The woman cried out and dropped flat on her face as Sasuke charged in with the Kubikiri glowing with electricity once more. The spy merely faded into the ground again as the Uchiha skidded to a stop next to Shizune.

"You alright?" He asked as she grunted in pain and placed a hand over one of the spots Kabuto had hit. Focusing her chakra for a medical jutsu made the hand glow a light green.

"Those were chakra scalpels, a medical jutsu meant to cut the muscles and nerves under the skin without breaking it. He just cut the tendons in my legs with that attack, I won't be able to move until I can heal them." She explained before letting out a light whimper of pain. "I've never seen someone use that jutsu for offensive purposes before."

"Ah, but aren't good medics supposed to find new uses for their jutsu?" Kabuto asked as he rose out of the ground a distance away. Shizune glared at him and he mockingly banged a hand against his head. "Oh wait, we're supposed to discover new ways to help people with them. Oops, my bad." He taunted as Sasuke's Sharingan were spinning rapidly while Kabuto only watched with amusement.

"You aren't going to get away with this." He growled as the older teen shook his head.

"Don't you get it Sasuke-kun? I'm better than you. Better than her too. I'm stronger and smarter from my many years as a shinobi even before Orochimaru-sama took me in." Kabuto gloated. "This is the real way of the world. The strong do as they wish and the weak either accept their fate or futily struggle against it. And right now you're weak! You couldn't stop your brother from killing the rest of your clan; you couldn't do anything when Orochimaru-sama attacked you in the Forest of Death; even against Jugo you were nothing more than an annoyance! Face it Sasuke-kun, you're weak!" He shouted before holding a hand out. "But you don't have to be. I'll say it again, Sasuke-kun, Orochimaru-sama will help make you strong. With him you'll get power you never dreamed of, jutsu you could only imagine will be yours to command! Any goal you have can be achieved with his help." Sasuke closed his eyes as he lowered his sword and took a deep breath.

"You're right... I am weak."

"See? Even you can't deny the obvious. So-"

"But that doesn't matter." He interupted getting Kabuto to pause. "I was too weak to do anything when Itachi killed the rest of our family. In my first mission I only barely managed to survive thanks to Naruto and awakening my Sharingan. In the Forest of Death, nothing I did could make Orochimaru so much as flinch. In the Invasion that guy knocked me aside without even trying. And then just recently when confonted with Itachi again, I couldn't stop him from torturing Naruto with his genjutsu. You're right, I am weak. And I'm pretty sure you're telling the truth about Orochimaru being able to offer me power and jutsu." He admitted before opening his eyes. "But I don't want it. I'll get stronger with my friends and my comrades in Konoha. The cursed power that snake is offering isn't for me. If I'm not strong enough now then I'll train until I am. Not only that but with Konoha, I know I'm not alone. There's people there I can rely on to help me when I'm stuck. With Orochimaru, I'd be lucky if I could even think of someone as reliable. So you can take your offer and shove it Kabuto. I'm never going to Orochimaru and that's final!" Sasuke declared as he raised his sword back up and charged Kabuto.

"Tch!" The spy ducked under a slash at his head and readied a kunai to fight back as Sasuke spun with his momentum into a kick. Crossing his arms to block the blow the teen was still pushed back as the younger genin connected. He grit his teeth and channeled chakra to his feet to stop himself from going to far before having to roll to the side as Sasuke threw the Kubikiri at him like a javelin. It was then that he heard chirping and looked back at the Uchiha to see his left hand covered in lightning and him charging.

"Chidori (One Thousand Birds)!" He cried as stabbed his electrified hand forward at Kabuto's chest. The spy did his best to twist out of the way as he hadn't regained his footing after the sudden roll and only managed to move slightly out of the way as Sasuke charged hand carved a large gash through his left shoulder instead of piercing cleanly. Kabuto let out a shout of pain as he fell away clutching his wound. Not only did it carve into him, the lightning had shocked him and fried a few nerves as well. If he wasn't a medic ninja able to start healing this on his own then he'd have been in true danger. "I'm not through yet!" Kabuto barely looked back up to see that Sasuke had grabbed his sword and leapt up, coming back down with the blade poised to decapitate him. With a shocked expression and a wet echo the blade stabbed straight through Kabuto's neck. Sasuke stared at the body for a moment before sighing as it disolved into mud. "Damnit, he got away..."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Take this!" Tsunade shouted as she lift Gamabunta's giant tanto herself and drove it through Manda's mouth, pinning him to the ground.

"Now 'Bunta, give me some oil!" Jiraiya called as he ran through hand-signs on the toad's head, the boss summon making his own. Suddenly the giant amphibian spat out a stream of oil at the trapped snake as Tsunade leapt away and Jiraiya let out a stream of fire to ignite it. "Katon: Gamayu Endan (Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet)!" The flaming liquid struck the snake directly on the head making it scream in pain as Orochimaru had jumped off his summon to dodge.

**"Orochimaru you'll pay for this!"** Manda promised before dispelling himself to heal from hsi wounds and avoid further injury. Orochimaru clicked his teeth in anger before hearing something and spinning around to see Tsunade charging him. Reacting quickly he spat out his tongue like a cord to grab her however the kunoichi instead grabbed his oral appendage and used it to reel Orochimaru in and delivered one of her strongest punches directly into the snake Sannin's face. Orochimaru flew back but before he could go to far Tsunade pulled on his still held tongue and sent him flying back towards her for another punch.

"Die you bastard!" She screamed as she punched him again jsut as hard as the first time and he flew away once more, this time not getting pulled back as she had let go of his tongue. The rogue Sannin landed a distance away in a crumpled heap as Kabuto rose out of the ground near him, still clutching his wounded shoulder.

"Orochimaru-sama!" The traitor merley opened his mouth as a fuly healthy, albeit exhausted, copy of himself crawled out.

"Kabuto, things aren't looking to be in our favor anymore. We're leaving." He ordered and the spy grimaced but nodded.

"What about Jugo?"

"He's served his purpose. If Tsunade will not heal him then he's of no more use to me." The man remarked coldly before disolving into mud. Kabuto only sighed before sinking back into the ground, just in time to see Tsunade and Jiraiya charging up as their summons dispelled themselves to go home.

"Damn... too late." Jiraiya cursed as Tsunade knelt down and ran a hand over the deflated and injured Orochimaru skin.

"So he's progressed his jutsu this far huh? That bastard is more of a snake than even I thought." She muttered before tossing it aside and getting back up. "Alright, let's get back. See if Shizune and the Uchiha brat need any medical attention."

"Sure thing hime."

"Don't call me that perv." Jiraiya only shook his head with a smile as they ran back towards their companions only to find Shizune healing her ankles and Sasuke waiting for them with his sword out. "What happened here?"

"We fought Kabuto and I hurt him with my Chidori before he ran off. I almost had him but he switched with a clone at the last second to survive. He did managed to cut some muscles on Shizune though so she can't walk again until their healed apparently." Sasuke explained as he set his sword on his back as he was confident the fighting really was over now that the two loyal Sannin were there. Tsunade only waked over to her apprentice and laid her hands over on top of Shizune's and added her own medical power to heal the girls' legs faster.

"So that was Kabuto, I was hoping I was just seeing someone that looked like him." Jiraiya muttered as he shook his head. "Naruto isn't going to like that when he learns about it." Sasuke nodded his agreement as Tsunade stood up and helpped Shizune stand, though slightly shakily.

"Well, what's done is done."

"What about that kid they wanted you to heal?" Jiraiya asked and Tsunade sighed as she looked over to where Jugo was lying, his chest barely moving as he breathed. Surprisingly enough the boy hadn't been caught in the crossfire between three Sannin's nor from Sasuke's and Shizune's fight against Kabuto. The four walked over to him as Tsunade knelt down for the third time in only a few minutes and ran a glowing hand over Jugo's body.

"I lied earlier when I told Orochimaru I could heal him." The blond admitted. "That Kabuto kid did pretty well in stabalizing him and fixing his organs and bones but the damage goes beyond that. His nerves and even his chakra network have been burned intensively. I can do a little so that he wouldn't have to live in pain but he's never going to be able to work as a shinobi again. Even civilian life would be a major challenge for him. Honestly a mercy killing would be the best option." She explained. In all her years she had only heard of one burn case worse than this. Heard of, never seen. And that case had been when she was a little girl and her grandfather had been Hokage. It was a clan member that had encountered the recently made missing-nin Uchiha Madara and he had been burnt beyond recognition by the man's black flames. In the end nothing could be done for him so he had been sedated and then killed quietly in his sleep. To actually see someone burn a person on that level today was very shocking to her.

"We can't kill him. Yet at least." Jiraiya spoke up, hiding a small bit of pride in Naruto's power and disgust at the burned and blackened yet still alive corpse of a teen in front of him. "He has to be important if Orochimaru would've went through all this trouble to try and heal him. I'll seal him into a special scroll fro transport and when we get back to Konoha I'll hand him over to Ibiki in I & T so that they can try and get anything about the man from him before we kill him off." Tsunade nodded and stepped aside so that Jiraiya could do just that as Tsunade turned to Shizune.

"Alright, while the perv's doing that, we'll head back to Tanzaku and get our stuff. We're heading home Shizune." The young woman's face broke into a large grin at that as Sasuke smirked.

"Decided to stop running lady?" He grunted as she turned and smirked at him.

"From now on that's Hokage-sama brat." Sasuke raised a brow before shrugging as the three started walking back, Jiraiya finishing and joining them only an hour later as they shared a small meal before beginning the trip back to Konoha.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"It's wonderful to see you again Tsunade. I'm thankful that Jiraiya wasn't forced to take drastic measures." Sarutobi greeted with a smile inside his office, his pipe smoking in his mouth. Tsunade smiled back in agreement as the aged Kage looked over Shizune. "And it's nice to have you back as well Shizune-chan."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." She replied as the man turned his attention to Sasuke.

"Now Sasuke, I know you had only good intentions when you rushed out of the village to try and help Naruto but next time you need to be more careful. Had I and others not guessed your motives to begin with you may have given people the impression you were abndoning the village and would've been labeled a missing nin. That said, good work on the mission."

"Thank you Hokage-sama, and I'll be more attentive to that in the future." The Uchiha apologized so Hiruzen nodded and turned to the last person in the room.

"Mission complete Jiraiya." He then took the scroll the Sennin handed him with a raised brow. "And this is?"

"One of Orochimaru's followers. The kid that Naruto took out in the Invasion to be exact. He's so badly burned up that even Tsunade can't heal him so I figured we could pump him for whatever info he knows and then let him die in peace."

"Agreed." The man snapped his fingers and an Anbu agent was suddenly kneeling behind him. "Hand this to Ibiki and Inoichi at I & T and tell them I want to know his life story tomorrow." He ordered as the ninja took the scroll and vanished. Sarutobi sighed before turning back to the four in front of him. "I'm getting too old for this." He muttered before getting back on track. "So you've decided to accept the offer to become Hokage, have you Tsunade?"

"Yeah, but I figured you could give me a few days to get used to the village again and see how things are before I take the job. Maybe get a start on some of those bad cases your medics can't deal with first while you set everything up for my taking over." She admitted as Hiruzen nodded.

"I don't see a problem with that. And what will you do Shizune-chan?"

"Um, I'll probably start helpping Tsunade-sama at the hospital if that's alright."

"It is indeed. With the two of you there I'm sure they'll be whipped into shape in no time at all." The two women nodded so Sarutobi dismissed them, only inviting the two to dinner at his home first to catch up. The four were then on their way to the hospital.

"So, you're going to heal Naruto right?" Sasuke asked as Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"Yes brat, damn don't worry. I figured since you've even threatened to kick my ass, stupid since it would never happen by the way, I'd fix the kid up first." She admitted so Sasuke smirked as they finished the trip to the hospital building and were directed to Naruto's room. Inside sitting by his bed were Sakura and Hinata, discussing something quietly which they stopped when the four walked in. "So, this is Minato's brat huh?" Tsunade mused as she walked over and picked up the medical charts for him and went over them before using a diagnostic jutsu to check over the boy herself.

"Sasuke-kun your back!" Sakura cheered as Hinata greeted him as well. The Uchiha nodded with a slight smirk as Sakura looked at Tsunade with a raised brow. "So who's this?" She asked.

"Tsunade of the Sannin and soon-to-be the Godaime Hokage." Jiraiya answered with a grin.

"Oh, Tsunade-sama! It's an honor to meet you." Sakura said with a slight bow as the woman only grunted.

"Don't they have pictures in those old history books used at the Academy?" She mused before making a couple signs and placing a hand on Naruto's forehead. Nothing seemed to be happening for a moment before his eyes snapped open. With a groan the boy sat up as Tsunade took her hand away. "Well, he should be fine now. Just take it easy for a couple days and there won't be any trouble."

"We'll make sure of it Tsunade-sama." Sakura promised as she nodded and left with Shizune and Jiraiya following. The three genin turned to Naruto as he had yet to say anything since waking up, instead just staring down at his feet.

_"Watch. Watch and see what you failed to protect." Koji jumping in front of a barrage of kunai for him. Sakuya pushing him out of the way just to be impaled by the very earth spike she saved him from. He last words, confessing her feelings for him. "...See what you failed to protect." Itachi's words echoing in his head over the images still playing over and over again in his head._

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata called lightly as she reached a hand out and lightly touched his shoulder. The blond jerked as if hit before looking up and seeming to realize where he was.

"Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata... what... what happened?" He asked as his teammates shared a look.

"You jumped in the way of a genjutsu my brother tried to use on me. You've been in a coma since until Tsunade of the Sannin healed you." Sasuke explained.

"It's been around two weeks Naruto." Sakura added as the blond placed a hand on his head and closed his eyes, trying to think back on his memories. "Are you alright Naruto? Tsunade-sama said you should be fine with a couple days of rest." Sakura asked as he shook his head lightly.

"I'll... I'll be alright Sakura." He replied, leaving the mental _'I think' _unsaid. Opening his eyes again he turned to the last genin there with a raised brow. "I understand why Sasuke and Sakura are here but what about you Hinata?" He asked as she tapped her fingers together.

"Well I w-wanted to... that i-is I mean..." She stuttered out as Sakura rolled her eyes and poked her in the shoulder.

"Go on, ask him. It's not like you've got anything to lose." She prodded as Naruto raised a brow and glanced at Sasuke to see him shrug in confusion as well. Hinata blushed red and opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out so Sakura rolled her eyes again. "If you don't say it then I'll do it for you."

"Wouldyougoonadatewithme?" Hinata instantly shot out as Naruto's face went shocked, having only caught a very tiny portion of her words and wasn't even sure if he had gotten that right.

"Excuse me?" Hinata sighed before repeating slower.

"W-would you go on a-a date w-with m-me?" She asked as the blond still looked shocked and looked to see Sakura smiling and Sasuke staring at the Hyuuga with a raised brow.

"A date?" He repeated and she nodded, still blushing. The blond was silent for a bit before tilting his head slightly and frowning. "...This wouldn't be because of my heritage would it?" He asked as Hinata shook her head no.

"I-I had been hoping t-to ask you a-after the Finals. W-when you announced your h-heritage, all that r-really did was make m-my father give his a-approval when before h-he was g-going to stay out o-of it." She admitted while the boy slightly rolled his eyes. Clan approval was not something he wanted or needed, especially if it just came from his parents and not his own achievements. Naruto let out a breath as he thought it over, Sakura and Sasuke waiting patiently to the side, one hoping he said yes while the other merely thinking it was amusing to watch.

"...I guess it'd be alright." Naruto finally spoke. Hinata smiled lightly so he shrugged. "So would tomorrow at five be alright? We could just go get dinner somewhere you like. That's what people do on dates right?" He quietly muttered as he raised a hand and scratched at the back of his head with a slightly confused look. Off to the side Sakura giggled as Sasuke shook his head, both thinking it was funny how such a strong ninja was having trouble thinking of what to do on a date. Sakura's giggle though drew both of the other's attention to the fact they were still there and both blushed.

"D-dinner sounds great." Hinata squeaked out before standing. "I uh... I'll s-see you tomorrow th-then N-Naruto-kun. Bye!" She was quickly gone then as Sakura finally stopped being quiet about her enjoyment of the situation and started laughing loudly while Sasuke snorted his own amusement.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up you two. I've never been on a date before." He stated as he glared at them lightly. Seeing him willing to give Hinata a chance and even holding some mock anger towards them let them know Naruto would be alright. But inside the blond wasn't. The only reason he agreed was to try and occupy his mind away from the nightmares Itachi brought back.


	25. 25

**bunnyguest:** Nope, Naruto and Tsunade won't be close in this story. And Naruto won't be getting the necklace either. Not to say Sasuke will, cause he won't, but that thing will be staying with Tsunade this time.

**Shinobi of life:** While Naruto won't be doing 'research' he will be getting advice before his date.

**EroSlacherMicha:** You get a very small hint at the end of this chapter but don't really learn the full brunt of it until next chapter.

** .kitten:** Haku won't reappear until the Shippuden years so it'll be a long time before you find out what happened to her.

**naturokurosaki:** You're the only one to notice that about the previous Hokages, and you're right, they pretty much belong to Obito now unless Orochimaru releases the jutsu which he likely wouldn't do since he'd see no point to. As for the Toad contract, Naruto doesn't feel the same way about it. He feels that if he had Toad summons in addition to the Rasengan and fuinjutsu skill, he'd be copying his father too much.

**Epic Bloody Poison Goddess:** Thanks for the compliment, and no Sasuke and Tsunade are not going to end up like canon Naruto and Tsunade. They'll see each other as someone to respect since they're both the last of their respective clans but otherwise they'll simply be cordial to one another since Sasuke isn't one for getting close to people and he kind of ticked Tsunade off when they first met.

**Death-Prince-3:** Now that you point it out, it does sound like I'm bashing Kakashi slightly in my summary… Oh well, people can just read and see that I'm not. As for your questions though; no, Naruto will never forgive Anko, I can't really answer Orochimaru or Kabuto using the Edo Tensei on Koji or Sakuya since I'm not sure yet and then if I do, it won't be to face Sasuke, Sakura or Hinata.

**Authors' Notes:** First off to all of you, I am very sorry this took so damn long. Real life has been very hectic with work and trying to get into college since my high school diploma doesn't seem like it will cut it if I ever need a new job, which is very possible since there have been rumors about my current workplace closing down. (I hope not) Plus, if you'll recall I said a few chapters ago my friend gave me his old laptop when he got a new one. Well it's pretty much reaching the end of its life since it's been having trouble turning on occasionally and it would actually be cheaper for me to get a new one. Hence I'm still saving for one. But I'm also getting side-tracked by all the Pokemon X & Y news and even went and rebought Black 2 to get back into the swing of things so I'm not sure when I'll get a new laptop. But I promise that I'll never stop writing this. In fact one good thing that came from all of this is that I now have a notebook where I'm writing basic plot outlines for all of my stories instead of keeping them mostly in my head, where things get lost or change into entirely new things on a daily basis. For this story and my Shinku Akuma story, I actually have a basic outline entirely written up all the way to an ending. Now I just need to flesh those little ideas out and type them up for all of you to read and enjoy.

Hopefully that won't take too long but considering my money and life situation…

* * *

><p><strong>25 –<strong> Promotion and Date

"So, I heard you've got a date tomorrow night." Jiraiya commented as Naruto walked out of the hospital. Sasuke and Sakura had left shortly after the blond woke up since he was going to be fine and Jiraiya had waited for him so that they could talk. Since his teammates had come out before him while he got himself checked out and cleared to leave he asked them if Naruto was okay and Sakura was all too happy to inform him of the dinner planned between Naruto and Hinata.

"What's it to you what I do with my time?" Naruto snapped before sighing. "…Sorry. Just a little irritable right now. That genjutsu is something else." Jiraiya nodded but waved the comment off with a small grin.

"It's alright brat. And I'm taking an interest because if I'm right then this is the first date you've ever been on. Got any plans for it?"

"Uh… we're gonna go get dinner somewhere that she likes. That's about all I've got." Naruto admitted with a raised brow. "Isn't that a good date?"

"Well for a first time I suppose it works. But don't you want to wow her or something? I mean you wouldn't have asked her out otherwise, right?"

"She asked me."

"Oh really?" Jiraiya mused. Sakura had only mentioned a date and with who, she left out which party had been the one asking. "Well that changes a couple things then. Come on, we can talk over a good meal. Kami knows how much you could use one after a hospital stay." The man offered before Naruto shrugged with a sigh. He was new to dating and Jiraiya was supposed to be a role model and his godfather. As much as he didn't get along with the man on some things, it wasn't like he could turn to anybody else.

Well maybe his sensei Kakashi.

…On second thought he was still single after all this time. As long as Jiraiya kept the perversion out of his advice then Naruto would accept his words.

"So, let's start with something basic. What are your thoughts on this girl?" Jiraiya asked as the two started walking down the street. Naruto didn't know where, he was just following the man so figured it would be a place he wanted to eat at.

"Well, she's beautiful. She's also the Hyuuga heiress so there's clan issues if things actually get serious."

"Okay, that's a good start. A pretty face is always welcome and a strong clan can be good or bad depending on how things go but we'll come back to that. How about as a person? Do you know anything about her personality or hobbies? That sort of stuff." The Sannin commented as they turned into a small sit-down restaurant. Naruto noted that other than the people working as cooks or waiters, every customer was a shinobi, which told him this was a shinobi only spot. He'd have to remember it in case he wanted food later without the ass-kissing civilians coming to him since his heritage was out.

"She's kind of shy and quiet, stutters a bit as a nervous habit too. But that's kind of cute in a way so I don't mind. I know she's against the Caged Bird seal her clan uses and that she wants to untie the two houses but other than that only some small things. Like apparently I was in the same class as her before graduating early back in the Academy and my old 'never-give-up' attitude inspired her to try harder. Which is still weird I think cause back then I was a nobody and yet she admired me and still does to an extent." Jiraiya chuckled at that while they both placed an order for some tea and then Naruto ordered a small plate of rice while Jiraiya asked for a steak. "But I can say we're friends at least. Not very close, but still friends."

"Well that's a good start. And apparently she's likes you enough to want to be more than friends. Now-"

"If you make any perverted comments her I'm gone." Naruto interrupted. Jiraiya gave him a mocked looked of pain and even put a hand to his chest in false hurt.

"Oh Naruto, do you really think so little of me? Don't answer that." Jiraiya shot out as he saw the blond open his mouth to speak. "I am a very perverted man and proud of it, but I can see you're actually being serious and hoping for some real advice here so I'm going to be serious in turn. Trust me, being perverted on the first date is only really advisable if the girl starts it first or if you don't really care about a long term relationship. Which are you going for here?" He asked and Naruto simply shrugged. "Just gonna let things go where they may huh? Well alright, you're still young so that's fine, even if she's a clan heir and your one yourself. You've both still got a few years before anything major is expected. Now, as I was saying before you interrupted me, one thing you'll want to keep in mind is that you should always be kind and courteous. Also, listen to what she says so you can hold up the conversations. A compliment here and there is never a bad idea either. With me so far?"

"So far I could've guessed all of this without any help Jiraiya."

"Well good. It may seem like common sense but you'd be surprised at just how much it works and at just how _UN_common it actually can be. Bringing a gift of something like some flowers or candy is kind of cliché but at the same time it's still a nice gesture if you're being serious on it. Don't let her pay for anything unless she's stubborn about it, a true gentleman covers the bill no matter the cost. If the place she decides on has a dance floor, offer her a dance or two. If it has some extra entertainment she enjoys, make sure to get it for her. This is only your first date for both of you so don't worry too much about if you're going overboard or if you're nervous. I can assure you, not only will she be nervous but every guy feels this way on their first dates. Also, even though you may not have anything planned it's okay. She asked you and this is short notice. Plus as you're both ninja, she should understand the value of simply enjoying your time together without having to worry about anything else. And as a clan heiress to Konoha's richest family, I'm going to be honest here and say I doubt anything you buy her could ever truly impress her. Stick with simple and with meaning rather than the extravagant." Jiraiya finished as their food was brought up. Naruto nodded as the two started eating in silence together, the blond thinking over the advice. Honestly while most of it was stuff he had already guessed, it was still good since now he knew. Plus he really wasn't sure what was going to come of this, if anything did at all. Naruto considered Hinata a friend, true, but he currently didn't have any romantic feelings for her. Whether or not that would change remained to be seen but he was willing to give it a chance at the very least. She did seem to like him so it was the right thing to do.

"Thanks Jiraiya."

"No problem Naruto."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"So Naruto's up now?" Hiruzen asked as Tsunade returned to his office after leaving the hospital. She had spent most of the day there with Shizune before telling her apprentice to take over things while she went back to speak with the old man. The blond women nodded her head to his question as she figured he'd be the patient he'd want to be told about mostly. "Did he seem alright?"

"I don't know the kid personally so I can't answer that but physically he'll be fine with a couple of days of rest before getting back into the swing of things. So just ask his teammates or sensei to check in on him and tell you about any differences." Tsunade commented so he nodded. "As for the hospital, it's actually running smoother than I expected from how Jiraiya made it seem. I can see where a few things can be fixed or updated but other than that all I really need to do is teach them more about medical jutsu and I can have Shizune start a class for that once I take the hat from you. Plus, it'll help get more medics in our shinobi forces so there's that as well."

"Ah yes. That's good to hear Tsunade. Also, if you'd like you can start the medical program I had to reject in the Second War. Now that we're at peace and with the revenue we're getting from such a showing in the exams, we can fund it without issue."

"I'd like that sensei." The blond woman replied with a smile. "Now, is there anything I need to know about your job before I take it next week?"

"Only a couple things but I'll still be here to help you with them as much as you'd like. A Hokage can name their advisors and have up to three. If you'd like I'd be happy to take one of the spots as yours. Currently my advisors are my old genin teammates and Shimura Danzo."

"Never really liked him sensei." Tsunade cut in and he nodded with an understanding smile.

"Yes, we have drifted apart since our youth as he's gotten more militaristic over the years. Then there was the Root problem a few years ago and while I officially shut it down I'm almost positive he still has it going behind the scenes. I'd like to shut it down permanently but can't find the evidence to fully do so. Still, other than his shadowy dealings with his Root, Danzo has been surprisingly quiet these last few years. I had to stop him from getting his hands on Naruto early on in the boys' childhood but ever since he became a ninja the man has been silent concerning him. The only other thing worth noting about him is that he wants to keep a very strict eye on Sasuke to ensure he doesn't turn out like his brother Itachi. At first I agreed with him but within the recent year I've been seeing more and more that our young friend will be fine."

"Maybe when he learns to respect his elders he will be." Tsunade quipped as Sarutobi chuckled. "But I guess that works for now. Maybe Jiraiya can get some info on Root so that we can shut it down for good and lock the old war hawk up. Anyways, I'm getting hungry and you promised me and Shizune dinner."

"That I did. So let's grab young Shizune-chan from the hospital and go to my home for a nice meal."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

The next day was quiet for most, just another day really. However for Naruto, the blond wasn't feeling good. He had woken up in a cold sweat screaming, the only reason nobody else heard was because he had long ago set up silencing seals around his room so that noise wouldn't go out. This wasn't the first time his nightmares had him screaming and he didn't want to disturb anybody else with his trouble. However there was something new in his tormenting dreams.

"_Watch. Watch and see what you failed to protect."_

Itachi's words were now permanently etched over the nightmares, telling him of how it was his fault. He had known it was his fault since it had happened. Had he not gone to Iwa with Koji and Sakuya then they would have survived. Had he been stronger then they wouldn't have had to sacrifice themselves to protect him. It was all his fault; Itachi's genjutsu had really just been rubbing salt in the wound.

After a shower and breakfast the blond had simply sat on his couch and tried to clear his mind for tonight. Later he'd be going on a date with Hinata and he did not want to burden her with his troubles. However trying to think of his upcoming dinner with her only brought other thoughts into his mind. Thoughts of his old teammate that he loved, the orphan Sakuya.

How could he even be thinking of going on a date with someone else? He loved her, and right before she died she confessed her own love for him. How could he betray that by trying to have a date with another girl? Sakuya meant more to him than that. To this day he'd still say he loves her, even though she's been dead for so long. He knew she'd want him to be happy, true, but he still wasn't over her. Just how long was a person to mourn a lost love before it was considered okay?

A knock on his door got his attention so he sighed but got up to answer, revealing it to be an Anbu member with a bird mask. "Hokage-sama requests your presence." The blond nodded so he vanished in a Shunshin (Body Flicker) as Naruto put on his sandals and headed for the man's office. Once there he found that he wasn't the only one inside. Waiting in front of the old Kage's desk were his teammates, his sensei, Nara Shikamaru, his sensei Sarutobi Asuma, Rock Lee, his sensei Maito Gai, Aburame Shino, and his sensei Yuhi Kurenai. Taking a spot next to his teammates Naruto gave a small nod to them as his mind was thinking of reasons they could all be there.

"Well, now that you're all here I can tell you just what you're here for." Hiruzen began, giving the genin a grandfatherly smile. "You are here to be told of your results in the Chunin exams." Upon the finishing of that sentence the faces of all the genin lit up slightly as they were interested in knowing if they would be promoted out not. "Aburame Shino, your opponent forfeited his match and then the Invasion kicked off before you could battle Sasuke in the next round. As such you didn't get a chance to fight at all. However I heard of what you did in the Invasion and am very proud to know the next generation is working hard. I am sorry I cannot promote you at this time, but know that I and the judges will be watching for you the next time you enter."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Shino spoke with a nod as Kurenai placed a hand on his shoulder. The man smiled in turn before moving onto his next genin.

"Rock Lee. You had a short but intense battle against Uchiha Sasuke in the opening match and demonstrated very skillful and strong taijutsu before being pinned and submitting. However before the match even began you admitted a weakness by telling your enemy you could not use ninjutsu or genjutsu. Then during the Invasion, you and your team helped clear out civilians and defeat a few of the Oto shinobi you came across. Much like Shino though, I am unable to promote you at this time but I and the judges await your next attempt."

"I promise I shall do my best to succeed next time Hokage-sama! My flames of youth will not be diminished from this minor setback to my career!" The boy cheered as Gai cheered from behind him. The aged Kage chuckled and nodded before moving to his next genin as Gai and Lee began to speak with each other about new training regiments to help ensure Lee's promotion next time he took the exams.

"Nara Shikamaru." He stated, a little loudly to both get Lee and Gai to realize they were still in his office and to get the boy's attention as he was doing his best to sleep standing up. Both of the green spandex wearing ninja apologized and quieted down as the lazy genin's eyes snapped open before returning to their bored look as he focused on the village leader. "You only had one match in which you skillfully evaded and then maneuvered your enemy into a trap before forfeiting due to a lack of chakra. While you lost, all the judges agreed that had that been a real mission with back-up, you assuredly would have won since your support could have dealt with her once you had caught her. Your aid in the Invasion, quickly planning and executing very high level traps and maneuvers for yourself and teammates against Oto ninja, had also been taken into account. It is with pride I now promote you to the rank of Chunin in Konoha's forces." He declared as he pulled out one of the green vests the ninja of that rank wore. Shikamaru took it with a sigh as he realized his workload was now going up.

"Troublesome."

"Haruno Sakura." Sarutobi began again, turning his attention to the pink haired girl. "During the Exams you very skillfully used misdirection and low level genjutsu to lure your opponent into a trap before using a high level genjutsu specifically targeting a known strength of your enemy, making it a weakness instead. That coupled with your aid in the Invasion has given me great pride to grant you the rank of Chunin as well." The Kage declared before pulling out another vest and handing it to the girl. Naruto offered her a small smile as Sasuke and Kakashi congratulated her for her promotion. The girl slipped the vest on before giving a bow to the Hokage, the smile on her face never once leaving.

"Thank you Hokage-sama. I'll do my best."

"I know you will Sakura. Now, Uchiha Sasuke." At his name, said genin stood a little straighter and focused on his leader as Sarutobi smiled. "During your match against Lee you showed great skill with the blade you gained from Momochi Zabuza, as well as proficiency in two elements. Both are skills the likes of which Chunin of many years have trouble gaining and are things usually left to jonin. I was also informed that the other genin of your class followed your basic plan after escorting the civilians from the arena to the shelter so I know you have a tactical mind along with those skills. You are doing your village proud my boy, and I hope you can continue such great work as a new Chunin of the village." Sarutobi declared, handing the genin a vest of his own. Sakura gave him a quick hug, that for once he didn't scowl at or tell her to get off, as Kakashi patted him on the shoulder and Naruto gave a grin at his teammate. Knowing he was next as the last one left Naruto turned to face the Hokage to see the man giving him a knowing look and smile as well.

"And finally Uzumaki Naruto, the Kurai Kitsune." With that sentence everyone else focused on the Kage as he started speaking. "Your match in the Finals was unprecedented, facing down not just a very powerful foe but a jinchuriki with the ability to transform into his contained biju. And yet despite this, you not only rose to the challenge but excelled and surpassed any expectation for you. Taking down any biju, even the weakest of the nine, is an S-class task and you did it single-handedly. And then afterwards you went on to eliminate many shinobi of Oto and Suna during the Invasion, even taking out one of the giant snake summons that were brought into play by Orochimaru's forces. It is known you also defeated a highly powerful Oto ninja, burning and scarring him beyond recognition with an elemental Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere), something even your father the Yondaime failed to create. Having you at genin level is frankly a waste of such a skilled shinobi. You would have gotten this much sooner had you had a team to compete with but know that now nothing is holding you back from your rightful promotion. Congratulations Naruto-kun, you've earned this." Hiruzen finished as he handed Naruto the last vest he was holding out of sight for the young ninja before him. Naruto took the vest in slight shock as everyone else offered their congratulations. Despite knowing he had the skill for the rank and even guessing that his promotion was a sure thing, he was still surprised to actually get it. The blond slipped the vest on over his jacket and ran a hand down the front before grinning widely as he looked up to the Hokage to see him smiling in turn towards him.

"Thanks jiji."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"You called for me Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked as he walked into the Hebi Sennin's personal lab. Orochimaru himself was overlooking a few notes while chained to a wall was a man so bloody it was impossible to tell what he once looked like. If not for the slight movement of his chest giving away his breathing, one would think he was dead. If anyone knew even the slightest bit about Orochimaru's habits, they'd know the man probably wished he was.

"Come here Kabuto, I want your opinion on something." The Sannin motioned as the silver haired teen walked forward to see Orochimaru was going over the intelligence gathered on Naruto and Sasuke. "You've told me how adamant young Sasuke-kun is against joining me so it will have to be forced in his case, but what of Naruto-kun? I believe if I offer him help against Iwa he would join of his own free will. What do you think?" The man asked as Kabuto nodded his head.

"Well yes and no. I think he'd accept the offer, so long as it wasn't you asking."

"Explain."

"From what I know of him, he doesn't really like you much. So even if you could destroy Iwa today and asked him he'd likely say no off principle alone. On the other hand, if the offer came from someone else, someone he trusts then he may be willing to put his dislike aside and work alongside or under you."

"Kukuku, that's all then?" The pale man mused before turning back to the man chained to the wall. "Then you go recruit him. If you can get him to come willingly then by all means do so. Offer him my aid against Iwa, some power if he seems interested, whatever you feel will work."

"Besides serving you, is there anything you'd like in return?" Kabuto asked, since he knew Naruto would be skeptical if he was told Orochimaru would want nothing in return but loyalty. The older man paused for a moment before picking up a scalpel and walking over to his prisoner.

"If he can, I'd like him to free Tayuya and bring her back. Or bringing Sasuke-kun with would work as well." The man replied before pausing and looking back to Kabuto. "Actually, make those possible choices. What I want for sure is Juugo to be killed. With him in the state he's in he's no use to me; however he knows enough about my operations that it'd be an inconvenience to allow him to live. Not only that but with Tsunade back in Konoha, she might be able to synthesize a type of counter-agent for my curse seals from his blood. Tell Naruto-kun he must kill Juugo, and if he brings Tayuya and Sasuke-kun to me as well then I'll owe him a favor." Kabuto nodded as he left, knowing that Orochimaru wouldn't pay back any supposed favor at all. In fact, he wasn't even sure on whether or not the man actually would help Naruto destroy Iwa or not. On one hand it was a major village, making it hard to take on as their failed attack on Konoha just proved. On the other, all the potential research subjects in the village could be gathered easily after or even during the village's destruction. It left Kabuto wondering what the man would decide in the end if Naruto joined him.

With his business taken care of, Orochimaru smiled before raising the scalpel and turning back to his subject. As the blade cut through skin the man began screaming making Orochimaru realize he forgot to put him out with anesthesia. Oh well, not like it mattered now.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Okay Naruto, this is just a simple meal. If something comes from it then so be it. If not, then oh well. You don't have to be nervous. Just be calm, be cool and… I have no idea what I'm doing…" Naruto moaned as he stood in front of his mirror. He had gotten into somewhat casual clothes of a button up blue shirt and black pants while he wasn't wearing his headband, letting a few of his bangs fall forward on his face. He had been trying to get ready for his date later but was sadly getting himself lost in thoughts of doing something wrong and ruining everything. Jiraiya told him every man felt like this during their first date and that it was nothing to worry about. He had then given the blond some rather good advice so Naruto knew a bit of what to do.

It didn't change the fact he had nerves about everything.

"Come on, I fought a biju and beat it! I completed a jutsu even my father couldn't do! I'm a feared ninja in the Bingo Book!" He shouted at himself before spinning around and walking out of the bathroom. "And none of that has anything to do with dating! Gah! I'd rather face an army." He whined before grabbing his wallet and checking the time before sighing and heading out, locking the door as he left. The blond did his best to calm down on the way towards the Hyuuga compound as he went over the basic plan for the night in his head. Dinner at a place of her choosing, he'd be the gentleman and pay for everything, and then afterwards a walk through one of Konoha's parks if she felt up to it. Simple and easy.

Then why did he feel better facing that snake in the Invasion?

Finally reaching the Hyuuga compound Naruto stated who he was and why he was there to the gate guards, even though he was sure they already were forewarned about him. They weren't surprised at all and seemed to have been waiting on him as one of the two lead him to the main building that served as the home for the Clan head and his family while telling him Hinata was getting ready and would be out momentarily. Naruto was simply told to wait here for here before the guard left to return to the gate. The blond was only waiting for a few moments before he heard footsteps and turned around expecting to see Hinata walking up.

Instead it was her father and the clan head Hiashi.

"So you are the one my daughter is going to dine with?" He asked, knowing full well who the boy was. He had actually been waiting for him to show up so that he could speak with him before they headed out. Behind him staring at Naruto in curiosity was his younger daughter Hanabi, Hinata's little sister.

"Yes Hyuuga-sama." Naruto replied with a short bow.

"Tell me, what are your plans for tonight?" He asked as Naruto straightened his posture at his tone.

"Dinner at a place of her choosing and a walk through one of the parks."

"I see. What are your intentions towards my daughter?" Hiashi asked as Naruto was now starting to internally sweat. Hiashi's blank face and neutral tone were not helping matters at all.

"None sir. She asked me out."

"None? So you see this as simply a dinner and nothing more? You have no plans for the future?" Something warned Naruto that was not a good answer, despite nothing in the man's tone or on his face showing it.

"Well, not yet I mean. Hinata is beautiful and I'm honored she's interested in dating me but I hardly know her really. I mean no disrespect but right now, I don't think I can plan anything because things may change and I wouldn't want to force something on her should her feelings change. It wouldn't be fair to her." The blond explained as Hiashi nodded his head slightly.

"That's it? What does that matter?" Hanabi chirped in, surprising both males that she was actually listening in and had an opinion on the matter. "You're apparently shinobi royalty due to your heritage. It will be expected of you to marry someone of power and prestige eventually and none can compare to the Hyuuga in that regard. If you ask me then this should be just a formality dinner and you should just marry her since you won't get anyone better and it's what your station demands." She stated. Hiashi narrowed his eyes, knowing Hanabi picked that kind of logic up from the Elders of the clan and not him as he hadn't started her on anything but combat training at this point and time while Naruto scowled.

"Well I didn't ask you and you shouldn't go on about things you don't fully understand." Naruto responded coldly. "There's more to life than power or prestige plus mine was hidden from me until only a couple years ago so I didn't grow up with all of this political knowledge. Besides, I could care less that she's from a great clan. When it comes time for me to marry, I want someone I can connect with and who's strong. My parents had many enemies and I've built up a few of my own so she'll need to be able to protect herself if things get bad. Not only that but I don't even care about rebuilding the Uzumaki clan or continuing my father's line or anything of the sort. If it happens then it happens, if not then oh well. Bloodlines or riches matter very little to me and I don't care what you think about it." Hanabi scowled both from his tone and in confusion about why he wasn't acting like she had been told someone with prestige should. Hiashi on the other hand kept his face blank but was inwardly pleased to know how little Naruto cared for power and heritage, it meant should he and Hinata get together that she'd be cared for because he actually cared for her and not for her Hyuuga name.

"While a bit rude about it, I happen to agree with him Hanabi." Hiashi said, shocking both of the younger ones. "Your mother was not a very prestigious woman Hanabi, not until after she married me and learned such things for appearances sake. What matters most in a relationship are the feelings the two have for each other. Naruto-san understands this, which is why I am fine with his admittance to not planning beyond tonight." The man admitted as Naruto nervously nodded his head. "However, that said you will understand why you will be killed if anything happens to her." He threatened as the blond nodded quickly. "Good, then have her returned by ten o'clock without trouble." With that last comment he turned and walked away, Hanabi sparing him one last glance before following him. Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding before rubbing the back of his neck.

'_Does every parent do that? Or just the big clan ones?'_ He though before hearing footsteps again and turned to see Hinata walking up. The boy instantly had to suppress a blush as she was wearing a lavender sundress and had put on a light amount of makeup to bring out her eyes. "Um… hey. Ready to go?" He asked as he got his blush under control. The girl had a blush of her own but nodded her head before placing her hand in his as he offered it. The two left the clan compound before Naruto spoke up. "So, where do you want to go?"

"Th-there's this nice place near the Hokage's o-office that I l-like." She pointed out so Naruto nodded and she led him to a small sit down restaurant. While there weren't many people there, the few that were noticed the Hyuuga heiress as well as the recently reveal heir to the Yondaime coming in together. Naruto rolled his eyes as the whispers started while Hinata only blushed more before a waitress came up.

"Can I take your orders, Namikaze-sama? Hyuuga-sama?" She asked as Naruto scowled.

"Yeah, for one you can drop the –sama and two, it's Uzumaki, not Namikaze. I may be his son, but I'm keeping my mothers' name." The woman looked shocked before nodding slightly as Hinata was now looking at him in curiosity with her head tilted slightly. "Alright then, could we get a couple menus then? I've never been here before and don't know what you have."

"Of course. I'll be right back then." The woman promised before walking away quickly, Naruto sighing slightly before turning back to Hinata and seeing her look.

"Um…"

"Y-you won't be taking y-your fathers' name?" She asked and he shook his head.

"As much as I respect and love my dad for what he did, I've grown up as Uzumaki Naruto. It feels right to me compared to Namikaze Naruto. Plus, my father was an orphan while the Uzumaki were an actual clan so by law as the last of the clan I'd still be forced to have my mother's name anyways." The blond explained as she nodded in understanding and the waitress came back and handed out two menus before leaving again to give them a few minutes.

"I-I also heard from S-Sakura-san how you never r-respected Sasuke-san j-just because of his h-heritage. Is that w-why you d-don't want others to c-call you –sama?" She asked and he thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Not really. The way I look at it, if that person hasn't done anything personally to earn that respect then I'm not going to give it. And I don't want to be called –sama because these people aren't using it because of anything I did. They're calling me that because of my father, plain and simple. Had I not let my heritage out then I doubt any of them would've used it, in fact I know many of them would still hate me for being Kyuubi's jinchuriki. That's not respect, that's just sucking up to me because of guilt and hero worship towards my dad." Again Hinata nodded so Naruto turned down to his menu and started looking it over. "So, since you've been here before, any suggestions on what to get?"

"Th-the steak is really g-good." Hinata started as the talk shifted to lighter topics.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"I can't b-believe you did that t-to your own s-sensei." Hinata said in between her laughs as Naruto recounted a prank he and Sakuya had pulled on Kakashi. The two had finished eating and were now walking through one of Konoha's many parks while Naruto was telling tales of some of the things he had done with his old team.

"He's always showing up late, it was just too easy to target him. Hell, Sakuya-chan and I practically considered it a crime not to." The blond boasted with an easy grin. He had actually been enjoying his night so far, minus Hanabi's words and the small part with the waitress. Hinata was soft-spoken and stuttered due to a few confidence issues but once he got her to open up a little he found a caring girl that loved flowers and cinnamon buns, which she ordered a few of for her dessert as it was originally why she chose that spot since she claimed they made the best in the village. Hinata on her part found that Naruto was simply a teen that was trying to hide his pain and enjoy as much of life as he could, something she was happy to help with as she had been blushing every time she got him to smile. He just looked so handsome to her. "We may have never gotten him but it was still good practice for our trap work since each prank was better than the last and by the end of things he actually started sending clones in first as a sort of safety against whatever we'd try."

"I u-understand why Naruto-kun. S-some of those p-pranks sound mean."

"Nah, it was all in good fun and he knows it. There was one time we got Koji-nii's dad though."

"Really?"

"Yep, Kakashi-sensei invited him one time to help with our training and we had a prank all set to hit sensei when he showed up. Instead, Daichi-san showed up early and set the trap off. Unlike Kakashi-sensei though, he didn't know we'd do this occasionally and thought it was safe. Instead he stepped onto the training grounds and was suddenly covered in pink paint and feathers while me and my teammates were struggling not to laugh. Wrong target yeah, but the sight was just too funny not to. By the time Kakashi-sensei showed up Daichi-san was chasing us around the training grounds to get back at us." Naruto recounted with a smile, remembering the day fondly. Hinata kept laughing lightly before letting out a breath and looking up at the night sky with a smile of her own. Looking back to Naruto to see him smiling made her blush again before she took a quick glance down at his arm as an idea crossed her mind. Slowly she reached out and took his hand in hers making him stiffen slightly before looking down at their hands before looking back up to her face and seeing her smile with a blush. Glancing back down the blond decided to let it go with a very slight smile.

"_Come on chibi-kun, Koji's waiting just up ahead." Sakuya cheered as Naruto was breathing heavily from the training he had just put in. Seeing him barely move the orphan girl shook her head in amusement before grabbing his hand and dragging him to his feet and pulling him after her. "Come on, we're going to go get some food to celebrate that last mission we did."_

"_Uh Sakuya? Could you let go of my hand?" The younger blond asked as the girl only tossed him a smirk over her shoulder._

"_What's wrong? Scared of holding hands with a girl?" She teased as he blushed lightly but let it go as she giggled at his blush._

Naruto gasped and pulled his hand out of Hinata's to hold his head as it started hurting. He also turned away slightly to hide how his eyes had teared up from the sudden memory of his old crush. Hinata looked worried but when he turned back he acted like nothing happened and tried to brush it off as they kept walking. She noticed though that he didn't re-take her hand and had even stuffed it into his pocket, meaning she couldn't grab it again. Things seemed to go fine all the way back to the Hyuuga mansion. "Well, I guess this is good night."

"Y-yeah…" Hinata muttered, the moment he had pulled away not entirely forgotten yet. "S-so I'll s-see you later r-right?" She asked as Naruto smiled lightly.

"Yeah. I had fun tonight so I wouldn't mind another date sometime." He admitted, getting her to smile and give him a hug. Naruto blushed as she said good night and then in a spur of the moment decision she placed a kiss on his cheek before pulling back and heading into the compound. Naruto only stared at her retreating form for a moment as a hand rose and felt his cheek where her lips had just been. With a glazed look the blond turned and started walking back towards his own apartment, his thoughts on the given kiss. _'She kissed me… The only other time I've gotten a kiss was…'_

"_Happy birthday Naruto-kun." Sakuya cheered as she had a blush on her face from the sake she had been drinking. Koji had already passed out at his table while Kakashi had left a few minutes ago. Naruto could easily say this was the happiest day he could ever remember as his teammates and sensei had come over to spend time with him instead of going to the Kyuubi festival going on outside. He also noticed that Sakuya had started calling him –kun after a few cups of the drink._

"_You've said that already Sakuya." The blond pointed out as the two of them were on his couch. She just shook her head and pulled him into a very tight hug._

"_So what? It's your birthday so I'll say it again and again! Happy birthday ~ happy birthday ~ happy birthday ~!" She started singing lightly as she took another drink from the cup she as holding. Naruto laughed and took it in stride since he wasn't really against getting hugged by the girl. Sakuya trailed off for a moment before pulling away from Naruto and staring at him with the most serious face she could muster in her drunken state. "Naruto-kun… I know it's your birthday… but there's something I want from you. A present of my own, okay?"_

"_Well what is it?" He asked, slightly confused to what she could want. The girl stared a second longer as her blush seemed to deepen._

"_Well… I want you to call me Sakuya_-chan_." Naruto went wide-eyed for a moment before smiling and nodding his head._

"_Okay, Sakuya-chan!" He chirped and she suddenly lit up with a large smile before hugging him close again. The blond only tried to pull back because she was smothering him but once he got some space she suddenly darted down and kissed his cheek._

"_Thank you Naruto-kun."_

"_Uh… you're welcome Sakuya-chan…" The blond muttered, still trying to wrap his head around the fact she had kissed him._

Naruto flinched as the memory went through his head before sighing and looking down as he kept walking home. Despite feeling nice during the date with Hinata, suddenly he felt horrible with himself. How could he be so callous towards Sakuya? He had, and still did, loved her. What was he doing going on a date with another girl? _'Hinata's nice… but can I really be with her when I still feel for Sakuya-chan?' _He thought before shaking the thoughts out of his head as he reached his apartment.

As soon as he placed his hand on the handle his mind was lit with information from the seals he placed throughout the house and he was put on edge. Someone the seals didn't recognize was inside his home! Quietly taking a glove out of his back pocket and slipping it onto his right hand, the blond unlocked his door and crept in. He silently closed the door behind him before pushing a small bit of chakra into the glove to pull out Sakuya's old weapon and gripped it in both hands. Naruto took a few careful steps into the apartment before spinning around and swinging the blade up to try and decapitate the person who had appeared behind him. He was quickly blocked by a kunai and pushed back but before he could attack again the figure spoke up.

"Naruto stop! I just came to talk!"

The blond froze at the familiar voice before turning on a light to reveal silver hair and glasses on his face. "Kabuto…" Naruto muttered before scowling. "What the hell are you here for traitor?"


	26. 26

**Vallavarayan: **If she only bothered to even find out Naruto existed after meeting him with Jiraiya in canon, why would she bother getting close to Naruto here when she's only healing him at the request of Sasuke and Sarutobi? Tsunade won't be close to Naruto in this story, not until much later when he really gets his act together.

**paracuties:** I don't mind. The seal idea was a basic one along the lines of a modern homes security system, like the seal doesn't recognize their chakra the same way people have to put in a password for our electronic ones. Go ahead and use it, it's not major. I don't even have a name for it.

**Larry:** Eventually I'll explain why Mikoto never did her god-motherly duties and raised Naruto. As for Karin and Suigetsu, they'll make an appearance in the second part of the story. I'll admit, Juugo, Karin, Suigetsu and one other character were really hard for me to find a place for in my story so instead I'm giving them each one major part and then I'll be killing them off right after. This way they'll at least get some screen time and there will be an explanation why they never show up in other parts. Juugo just got his big part first.

**Authors' Note:** I've decided that since this story is really the biggest one on my mind right now, I'm going to keep writing for this one until I finish part one. That means there are only a few chapters left before I finish this and begin part two. Like less than ten chapters total. So enjoy and look forward to the next one.

* * *

><p><strong>26 –<strong> Refusing Reality

"Why have you come here traitor?" Naruto demanded of the older teen across from him. He had just gotten his promotion to chunin, had a nice date with Hinata, and now he gets home just to have Yakushi Kabuto, a known traitor, in his home. And to think that everything else had been going so well.

"I just came to talk. Really." Kabuto explained as Naruto scowled at him. He lowered the Kagirinai Buyou but didn't put it away as he jerked his head to his kitchen table. Kabuto inwardly frowned, having hoped for a slightly warmer reception but understanding why it didn't happen.

"Then talk. And know the only reason I'm not taking your head right now is because we _were_ friends." Naruto ordered, placing an emphasis on were to let Kabuto know how angry he really was to find out the teen was a spy the entire time they knew each other. Kabuto sighed but sat down with Naruto sitting across from him, still holding his weapon close.

"Alright then, I can understand all of this and it doesn't bother me so much really." The silver haired teen muttered before getting down to business. "I've come with an offer for you Naruto. Orochimaru-sama would like for you to join him as an Oto shinobi. He'd like for you to help him achieve his goals." At this Naruto scoffed and shook his head.

"I'm not going to help him destroy Konoha Kabuto. You should know that already."

"I do, but Orochimaru-sama has other goals you can help him with. Especially with your jinchuriki status and your heritage." Kabuto told him before giving a light smile. "But he's not stupid enough to think you'd betray the village just to help him so he told me to give you a few offers." Naruto raised a brow at this but stayed silent as his former friend continued. "One is he'll train you up into an even stronger shinobi than you are now."

"I refused training under one Sannin already. Why would I go to another?" Naruto cut in as Kabuto chuckled lightly.

"I'd heard about that, very independent aren't you?" When Naruto didn't rise to the joke he sighed but got back to business. "The other is one I know you want. He's offering to help you destroy Iwagakure."

"What?" Naruto gasped as Kabuto nodded.

"That's right. Unlike Konoha, which is always trying to make you give up on your dream of vengeance, Orochimaru-sama will help you achieve it. In fact, he approves of it. While no longer a loyal Konoha shinobi, he's had his own problems and his own grudges against that village. He hasn't been able to take his own vengeance against them yet because as strong as he is, he knows he needs more resources and power before he can. With you at his side, the two of you will be so much closer to your goal." Naruto was silent as he looked down and thought.

Help in destroying Iwa? It was something he knew he'd need as even if he had full control of Kyuubi's power it would be near impossible to destroy an entire hidden village on his own. Not only that but Kabuto was right in that Konoha, specifically the Sandaime, his sensei, and his godfather, were trying to make him give up on Iwa's destruction. They didn't want the village to be destroyed, even with everything that happened to him or others over the course of history.

_Watch. Watch and see what you failed to protect._

Itachi's words echoed through his mind again as his thoughts flashed on Koji jumping in front of him to take a kunai barrage for him and Sakuya shoving him out of the way an earth spike only to take it herself. Iwa took them from him, took the first two people near his age to ever care for him away. And going back in history they took countless other loved ones from the rest of the village over the course of the three wars the Elemental Nations have been caught in. Why were they still allowed to exist? Why weren't they crushed in a justified attack?

Almost as if he could read his thoughts Kabuto spoke up. "Konoha is a pacifist village Naruto. They are very strong, of that there is no doubt. And their belief in the Will of Fire is only adding to their strength as everyone looks out for one another. However, Konoha never attacks. This village is always defending, always protecting. While that stance makes it seem kind and welcoming, drawing in more customers from all over for missions and trade, it has a drawback to it. One you yourself are caught in. Konoha will never sanction the destruction of another, never truly punish those who deserve it. Look at the history of the Nations and the wars we've fought. Every time Konoha came out on top. And yet, were the others punished for starting the violence? Punished for the lives they took from us? Punished for the innocents they claimed?" Kabuto asked as Naruto's hands shook under the table as he gripped his weapon tighter. "No they haven't. And they won't. Konoha always just lets it go, just lets it happen again before stepping in to stop it. If you stay here, you'll never get your vengeance against Iwa. Koji and Sakuya will never rest in peace knowing their killers are still safe and sound. You'll have to live knowing that you've failed them and everyone else that wished the same as you." Naruto flinched at that, not knowing how to answer or what to say in response.

"I… I don't want to hurt anybody here in Konoha. I'm finally starting to get some recognition. I was just promoted to chunin. I even had a date earlier." Naruto muttered as he tried to deny Kabuto's words, despite having thought them himself and even believing some of it.

"Congratulations then, but tell me a couple things. Are you getting recognition for yourself or for your heritage?" He asked as Naruto stayed silent. "And as for this date, what would Sakuya think considering you loved her?" Still silent, Kabuto sighed and stood up while placing a scroll on the table. "This scroll has instructions you need to follow if you decide to join Oto. To prove you're willing to help Orochimaru-sama, he'd like for you to do something for him. He's also made a couple requests and promised a favor or two of your choice if you'll complete them as well." He explained before walking to the door and casting a Henge (Transformation) on himself to disguise his appearance. "Think it over Naruto and then make your decision. The offer stands for one week." He promised before leaving, the door closing behind him as Naruto silently stared at the scroll on his table.

Everything Kabuto said struck him to his core. He knew the village would never approve of his dream to see Iwa burn. That was why he had been trying to find another way to crush the enemy village. As for the villagers, he was starting to get recognition from some of the shinobi population true, but outside of the Ichiraku's the civilians would praise him as _'Namikaze-sama'_ and nothing else showing him that it wasn't him they were seeing but the shadow of his father. And then came his date with Hinata. How would Sakuya have reacted to that? He could only guess but even those guesses caused him pain in his heart.

It wasn't fair. None of it was fair! Why did everything have to happen to him? Why was he the one cursed to bear such a burden? A horrible childhood, some slight happiness, and then the greatest tragedy he could think of. Why? Why him? And why couldn't he claim any justice for his comrades? Why did their killers get to go free and live happily while he was tortured by their memories?! It wasn't fair!

But now he was being given a chance to make it fair…

Naruto sealed the Kagirinai Buyou back into his glove as he stood up, still staring at the scroll. Orochimaru was offering help, and while he wouldn't trust that snake in the slightest, it was still more than anybody else in the village could claim to have offered him. Slowly the blond grabbed the scroll and walked back to his room. Before he decided if he would take the offer or not, he'd have to see just what Orochimaru wanted in return first.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

The next day found Naruto being called to the Hokage's office to speak about something. He didn't know as he wasn't told. Arriving though showed him only the Sandaime and Kakashi were there waiting for him. "Ah, Naruto, good morning."

"Is there something you need from me Jiji?" Naruto asked as he stood in front of the Hokage's desk and Kakashi put away his book that he had been reading.

"Yes. I'd like for you to brief me on everything you did during the Invasion. All I have on your actions are second hand reports from everyone else, but I'd prefer the source directly when possible." Naruto nodded as Sarutobi told him why he'd been called.

"Alright. When the genjutsu was first cast on the civilians in the arena, Sakura and I broke it easily before rushing up to Kakashi-sensei here for orders. She subdued a good number of enemies with her genjutsu while I took out a shinobi that was trying to strike sensei from behind. Sasuke was quick to show up so sensei gave us our orders. I was ordered to go and take care of the shinobi that had gotten into the village at large. Sensei also gave me free reign to use up to two tails of Kyuubi's chakra if I needed to. I quickly ran out of the arena and into the village and then began attacking any non-Konoha shinobi I saw before being confronted by a large team of mixed Oto and Suna nin that claimed I was a capture target. Using one tail of Kyuubi's power I defeated them and continued on until the snake summons broke through the village walls. I noticed Jiraiya take one down so I moved onto the closest to my position, which was the three headed one. With a clone and some fast blade work I managed to bring it down when I was attacked by an orange haired teen older than me." Naruto paused here as he narrowed his eyes, thinking back on that fight.

"He had some kind of weird jutsu I'd never heard of before. It didn't require any hand-signs or even any sign of him focusing on it; it might've even been a Kekkei Genkai." He admitted. "His skin would turn this sickly purple color and then his limbs would mutate. Like he made his fist into a giant spiked fist that looked like it came from some kind of demon. He also turned his arms into blades to attack with and even shields for defense. And the most dangerous thing I saw was he could make these tubes grow out of him that could fire off attacks of pure chakra, which he used to either increase the momentum of his attacks or attack directly. I was already pretty exhausted from facing down Gaara in the arena as well as running through the other enemy shinobi in the village so I was losing pretty badly before crashing through a building. That's when I ended up meeting with Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, Shino and Kiba while they were doing whatever it was they were doing. I warned them to run but then that teen came back and tried to attack me again while they jumped in the way to protect me. It didn't last long and I realized I didn't have any real choice if I wanted to save them so I pulled on three tails of Kyuubi's chakra and then put him down with my Katon: Rasengan (Fire Release: Spiraling Sphere). After he was taken care of I cut the chakra but succumbed to my injuries and collapsed. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital."

"I see." Sarutobi muttered as Naruto finished. "Thank you for explaining everything as well as everything you did in the Invasion. There's no knowing just how different things could have been had you not acted. From the Suna prisoners we have, we know that the original plan in the Invasion was for Gaara to unleash the Ichibi in the village to rampage around however thanks to your victory they had to go with a back-up. That teen you fought, apparently he was that back-up and hearing of his abilities I'm well inclined to believe it." The man explained as Naruto nodded. "I think you should know that currently he's in our I & T department being worked on by Inoichi and Ibiki. Tsunade even checked him over and found that your attack had burnt him beyond her capacity to heal him. You should be proud of that strength my boy, only the best have managed that feat." Naruto only nodded his head in response.

"Why didn't you mention you finished the Rasengan Naruto" Kakashi cut in as Naruto shook his head.

"It's not finished. At least not in my mind."

"What do you mean?" With a slight sigh Naruto held a hand up and formed a Rasengan above it.

"The Rasengan is the highest level of shape manipulation possible right? Well it takes so much focus as it is for me just to hold it together. I couldn't add an element to it right now even if I wanted to. However when I'm using enough of Kyuubi's chakra to form a cloak, I can delegate the shape portion of the Rasengan to the cloak while I focus instead on the power and element. Essentially, I'm only filling a circular shell in the cloak with spinning fire. It has the appearance of and operates under the same principles as the Rasengan, but until I can do it without a crutch like my jinchuriki powers I don't consider it complete."

"I understand. Still, that is an impressive workaround Naruto. You should be proud." Hiruzen praised as Naruto only smiled lightly. "That said, there is a small problem here Naruto." He stated, getting serious. "You were ordered not to go above two tails, by your own admission you acknowledged this order and then disobeyed it."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't have a choice. I could hardly move my body after the fighting and the exhaustion. If I wasn't running at least three tails through my system then I wouldn't have been able to even move." Naruto defended while Sarutobi sighed.

"I get that, which is why we're letting it go this time. However you need to be more mindful of your orders. Especially any orders regarding your tenant. He ordered you to stay away from three tails for a reason Naruto and you know it." Naruto frowned and nodded his head stiffly.

"I understand Hokage-sama. Will that be all then?" He asked in a neutral tone making the aged man inwardly sigh but outwardly nod his head. Naruto gave a nod to Kakashi before turning around and leaving the office without another word. Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck before turning to his leader with a sigh.

"That went about as well as expected."

"Agreed."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Hey look, it's Namikaze-sama."

"Good morning Namikaze-sama!"

"Hey Namikaze-sama, how about a meal here? My treat!"

"Namikaze-sama would you go out with me?"

"No with me!"

Naruto ignored the shouts people were sending him as he walked down the street. People had come to accept his heritage easily enough since apparently while he was out from Itachi's genjutsu the Hokage had made an announcement confirming what he had slipped during his match with Gaara. Now everybody was kind to him and some tried to make up for earlier treatment by offering him things while many of the woman around his age, and a few older than him, tried to ask him out on dates and such. But Naruto couldn't care less about it.

Kabuto's question last night had only confirmed what he had been thinking and even known, even with him trying to deny it. This recognition and acknowledgement… it wasn't really for him. They might as well have been talking specifically to the deceased Yondaime for all it mattered. The no longer saw him as Kyuubi, true, but now they saw him only as the son of their hero. Only the very few actually saw him as who he was, just Naruto. It was better than the hate and glares, but not by much. In fact, Naruto actually preferred the negative treatment. At least that was honest while this was lying to themselves to try and kiss up to him and his father's memory.

"There you are Naruto." Jiraiya called out as he came up alongside the blond. "Been looking for you for a bit. Wanted to talk to you about a couple things." The man told him so Naruto shrugged as the two turned down the street. Naruto led them to Ichiraku's as he was getting somewhat hungry and the Sannin didn't mind where they went. What he wanted to talk about wasn't entirely a secret either.

"What do you need Jiraiya?" Naruto asked after telling Ayame he'd like his usual order. The man gave Naruto an easy grin as he propped his chin in his hand.

"Well first off, how was the date? Enjoy yourself with the Hyuuga heiress?" Naruto was silent for a second but then nodded.

"It was… fun."

"Can I get any details?" Jiraiya prompted and Naruto glared at him, recognizing where he was going with the conversation.

"Nothing happened perv. Is there anything else?" He demanded so Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

"Yeesh, try a little teasing and you try and bite my head off. Lighten up kid, I was only joking around." The Sannin replied as their orders came up. Both thanked the brunette as they began to dig into their meal and eat in a somewhat comfortable silence until Jiraiya finished his bowl and Naruto finished his second. "Anyways, I did come for some actual important business as well." The man said, getting the blond's attention. "With Akatsuki starting to make their move, it was decided by sensei, me and Tsunade that you need to be whipped into shape pronto. So I'll be taking you on a training trip for a couple years to do just that."

"No."

"Excuse me?" Jiraiya asked, not expecting that response.

"I said no. I've been doing just fine training on my own without you so I can keep doing that here. Besides, I'm not putting my career on hold just so you can drag me around the Nations."

"Naruto-"

"I've said my piece Jiraiya and that's final. I've got things to do and running around the world with you is not on that list." The blond stated getting Jiraiya to sigh and run a hand down his face.

"Okay Naruto, I didn't really want to do this but you don't have a choice."

"What?"

"I said sensei and Tsunade decided this with me. We even spoke with Kakashi on it and he agrees with it. Once Tsunade steps in as Hokage in a couple days, this is going to be one of the first things she does. You can either just accept it, or you can bitch about it while she makes it an official order. You need to get stronger, and as the strongest currently in Konoha I'm the best one to train you up to our level. As such, you're training with me whether you like it or not." The man admitted, making Naruto grit his teeth in anger.

"I don't get a choice? What gives you the damn right?!" He growled as Jiraiya just narrowed his eyes.

"You wanted to be a ninja, so you should know that ninja don't always get to do what they want. Like it or not, we technically are weapons for the Hokage to use as they see fit. If two Hokages want to refine and polish a specific weapon, that weapon better do as it's told. That's the reality of your situation. Pack your stuff and say your good byes to your friends because we leave at the end of the week in three days." The man ordered as Naruto stood and paid money before storming off, leaving a half-eaten bowl behind. Jiraiya just sighed and shook his head while Ayame stepped up to grab the bowl.

"That was harsh Jiraiya-sama."

"Yeah it was, I won't deny that. But Naruto knows that's just how it is. And he needs to man up and get over it. He knows better than most that things don't always go the way you want them too. He may hate me but even he'll admit I'm currently the best Konoha has, so if he wants to get stronger then I'm still the best he'll have as well." The man gave the teen a kind smile as he stood and left himself. "Thanks for the food and treating the kid kindly for who he is and all. He may come around again before we leave so you'll be able to say good bye. Don't worry."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

'_Again. My life is being decided by others again! They always have my best interests at heart my ass! See how that shit turned out the first time? My life was horrible for their _best intentions_ and now that it's getting good again they have to fuck it up some more! I am not going to travel the Nations with that bastard and that's final.'_ Naruto ranted in his head as he stormed down the street, hardly paying attention to where he was going. It was only understandable then that he spun around with his gauntlet aflame when a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Whoa, calm down Naruto." Sakura said as she stepped back raising her hands in a calming gesture. Seeing her Naruto sighed and let the flames go out before apologizing. "Don't worry about it, you looked really mad about something and I was wondering what was up. I mean we're friends right? Anything I can do to help?" She asked as the blond shook his head.

"Not unless you can change the minds of both Hokage-sama and Tsunade since she'll be Kage in a couple days." The girl gave a regretful smile but shook her head so Naruto rolled his eyes. "Then you can't help me much here Sakura."

"Well I can keep you company and give you an outside opinion on whatever they decided. Someone to talk to right? Keeping everything bottled up isn't really healthy you know?" Naruto just chuckled lightly and jerked his head in the direction he had been walking as an unspoken request to follow him so the girl shrugged as they began walking again. "So what did they decide that's gotten you so angry?" She asked as Naruto debated telling her for a second.

"Their plan for my next couple years." He began, deciding it would be fine telling his teammate about it. "There's a group out there of S-ranked criminals after the biju and as the Kyuubi jinchuriki, I'm on their hit-list. Sasuke's brother Itachi is even part of the group. As such, they decided with Jiraiya to send me on a training trip with the man for a couple years to toughen me up so I can fight against them." The blond explained as they reached Naruto's apartment and walked inside. After a small bit of Sakura looking around, as it was her first time visiting his place, she sat on the couch while Naruto took the chair next to her. "I know I'm not S-rank yet and that with Jiraiya I could likely reach that level on the trip but I just can't. I'm not putting my career on hold for two years just to train. I also know the man very well and know he'll spend more time perving on women than he will training me, it's just the kind of bastard he is. I may get stronger but I am not spending two years alone with him going around the Nations. It's not worth it." Naruto finished as Sakura nodded her understanding.

"Well what if it was Kakashi-sensei? I mean he's S-rank as well and you're used to working with him on your own since you had been doing it already before Sasuke-kun and I were placed with you. Maybe you could just ask them to switch your teacher for the two years instead? I mean it doesn't sound like it's the trip really so much as who it's with that you're against. If you're worried about your career then Hokage-sama or Tsunade-sama could just send you missions while you're gone to complete." Naruto slapped his forehead as that possibility completely slipped his mind while Sakura chuckled. "Didn't think of that huh?"

"No…" He admitted as she chuckled again. "But as for getting sensei, I know that won't happen. Sensei is one of the best the village has for missions; they won't take him off the active roster just to train me around the world. Plus I may not like admitting it but Jiraiya is stronger than Kakashi-sensei. Not only that but sensei has taught me pretty much everything he could. He's really been a glorified sparring partner these past couple months, not really a sensei. Outside of a few tactics and exercises to help me, he doesn't have much he could really teach me anymore. I just need experience to reach his level. Jiraiya though has much more, and when he's actually focused he is a good teacher. That's just the problem though." The blond sighed before continuing. "I may be big for the village, especially considering my performance in the Finals and my revealed heritage but in the end the village can take me off the roster for this trip without much consequence right now. Plus as a Sannin, Jiraiya's always operated under different rules than us regular ninja so he's not even on the regular roster to begin with. He could make this trip a decade and the village wouldn't be any worse off for him taking the time off."

"Then… then I guess you're right." Sakura stated after some thought. "Sorry Naruto but it seems like you'll really have to just deal with this."

"I know…" He growled lightly before shaking his head. "It doesn't help that Jiraiya is the biggest opponent in my way about taking out Iwa." Sakura raised a brow at that but Naruto didn't notice and unknowingly elaborated for her unasked question anyways. "He's always preaching peace and while I'm fine with that, not everyone deserves to go to the peace he wants. Iwa's done so much against Konoha as a whole, not just me, that they have to go but he doesn't care about that. He wants me to forgive them and reach out to them in friendship." Naruto scoffed and shook his head at that. "Never going to happen."

"Naruto…" Sakura muttered before going over everything in her head and quietly speaking. "I think he's got a point."

"What?" Naruto coldly asked as Sakura flinched a bit at his tone but steeled her nerves and continued. She'd come a long way from being terrified of him.

"From what you told me and Sasuke-kun, you killed all the Iwa ninja in those exams plus others right afterwards. You already got your vengeance on them. It's not like Sasuke-kun's where the villain is still out there, yours is dead and gone. You're just angry with the village now even though those left in it haven't harmed you in the slightest. I… I think that's wrong." She admitted as Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I'm not saying forgive them because I know that'll never happen for you but… I think it would be better if you stopped agonizing over and planning their destruction. You should move on and look to the future, not the past." Sakura had put her head down as she kept talking but when she raised her head she found the blond shaking with a glare aimed straight at her.

"Get out."

"Naruto-"

"Get out!" He shouted as the girl flinched but then stood. With one last look at him she silently left the apartment leaving him alone with his anger. The blond growled and Sakura's words replayed in his head, joining Jiraiya's and his own anger and resentment towards the man and his opinions.

_Watch. Watch and see what you failed to protect._

Iwa had to be destroyed. It was all that mattered.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Hey Sakura. Something the matter?" Sasuke asked as he saw her slowly walking by with her head down. In his hand was a bag of groceries while his sword was nowhere to be seen, having been left at his house.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura chirped and smiled at seeing him before his question hit her and she sighed. "I… it's Naruto. I just spoke with him and… and well he's not in a good mood. Apparently Hokage-sama and Tsunade-sama have made a decision he's not happy with and then the conversation turned to Jiraiya-sama and Iwa and I said some things that angered him."

"You got him mad about Iwa and he didn't attack you?" Sasuke quipped and Sakura rolled her eyes while falling into step with the Uchiha on his way home.

"I'm being serious here." The dark haired teen only grunted with a smirk.

"Then you might want to tell me everything from the beginning." So she did, going over everything Naruto had told her and then what she had said at the end, getting Sasuke to shake his head. "Sakura, that was stupid of you. Yes, you're right that he technically got his vengeance but he doesn't fell like he has. I get how he feels kind of because of my own vendetta against my brother but you couldn't possibly understand since you've never lost anyone or anything close or important to you. Personally, I hope you never do either." He added and Sakura rolled her eyes this time.

"Oh joy; I'm the only person on our team without a tragic past. Sensei lost his team and sensei, Naruto lost his team and you lost your family. Yay, I'm normal." She blandly commented getting Sasuke to grunt again. "I get that's a good thing but seeing all three of you occasionally get depressed or brooding over it… I want to help but you'll all say the same thing; you don't know and we hope you never do. How am I supposed to be a good friend and help if none of you will let me?" She asked as Sasuke sighed. The pair had reached the Uchiha district at this point and were closing in on Sasuke's home.

"By being there and doing what you're doing. Just giving us someone normal to talk to and spend time with helps, trust me." He admitted as he shook his head slightly. "You can't understand it yet and again hopefully you never do but we need normal to help us get back to it. I didn't have that after my clan was killed until I was placed with you and Naruto. I was like him in that I was forced to live with my reminder, this entire empty district. That really messed me up, I can see that now, but you and Naruto helped. Naruto showed me how to focus myself and keep it out of everyday life and you helped give me something normal to turn to when the dark thoughts became too much. Trust me Sakura, you pissed him off earlier but he's not going to turn you away forever now. Just give him some space and let him calm down and he'll be back to his normal in a day or two." The girl smiled gratefully as Sasuke gave her a light smirk and opened his door. As he walked in he saw her turning to leave and made a quick decision of his own. "You don't have to go you know." He said getting her attention. "It's not like you can't come in. And I'm pretty sure you've got more you want to talk about."

"Really? Thanks Sasuke-kun." She replied with a large smile as the boy just turned around and kept walking further into his house.

"Hn."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"So that was his response to the trip? Refusal and anger?" Sarutobi mused as Jiraiya had come by to talk and the conversation turned to Naruto and the upcoming training trip. Jiraiya had told the Hokage what had happened and while disappointed the man could say he wasn't really surprised that much by the blond teens' response. Jiraiya and Naruto together always had an undertone of 'bad idea' since the boy hated the man. It's just that there wasn't anybody of a high enough level to really train the boy up in the village save for himself or Tsunade. However Tsunade would both be too busy as a Kage and her fighting style didn't work with Naruto so she couldn't help him at all. As he was first too busy himself with the Kage position, even though he was retiring in a couple days he'd still be busy helping Tsunade adapt to it, and then his style of combat also wasn't really meshing with Naruto that well. Better than Tsunade's for sure but he didn't have much more to give Naruto other than stories of his own experiences for Naruto to take lessons from about what to do in certain situations.

"Yep. I told him he doesn't really have a choice since Tsunade will make it an order if she needs to but that just pissed him off so much he stormed away." The man finished before sighing. "Sensei… Minato's kid really hates me. I thought during the month before the Finals he might have forgiven me or at least be willing to work with me but I guess he was just taking what he could get. As soon as the Exams and Invasion were over he went right back to being cold and spiteful towards me. Then when he woke up from Itachi's genjutsu we managed to share a civil conversation as I gave him some advice for that little date he went on but today…" Jiraiya shook his head and sighed again as he looked down. "Every time I think I'm making progress in getting his forgiveness it blows right back up in my face. I wasn't there for him when he needed it and he won't let me forget it and he refuses to let me try and make up for it."

The Hokage was silent as he took in Jiraiya's words. Truthfully he'd like to help the man and wanted Naruto to get along with him, both because of his status as godfather and because Jiraiya was truly a likable and helpful guy to know. However he couldn't order Naruto to like him anymore than he could have ordered the villagers to like Naruto in the first place. Another reason for this training trip was to try and get Naruto to open up to the Sannin, but so far that looked like an impossible task as Naruto was refusing to even go on it and would have to be forced. Hiruzen even respected Naruto's choice to not become a Toad summoner as Naruto had free reign in how he wanted to train himself as a shinobi. While Jiraiya was disappointed and would occasionally ask him again, always mentioning that the offer still stands, Naruto would always refuse and change the subject.

"You know… the Toads told me this prophecy one time. I forget if I mentioned it to you or not." Jiraiya started. Sarutobi knew what he was talking about as he had heard it before but decided to stay silent and let Jiraiya speak as he understood that was what the man needed right now. "I would become a pervert without equal and would teach the one that would go on to one day save or destroy the world. At first I thought the prophecy was talking about that Nagato kid back in Ame since he had the Rinnegan but then he went and died. Then later I came to believe maybe it was talking about Minato but he gave his life to stop Kyuubi. But more and more I'm becoming convinced it has to be Naruto. The kid can change people for the better, he's strong and talented, and he truly does want to help people. If he could just get over his grudge against Iwa then he'd be perfect." The man ranted lightly as Hiruzen agreed with him, giving a nod and slight smile. "But more and more he seems to be sliding back to that hate, especially when people try to help him move past it. He's started getting over his teammates thanks to his new ones but still holds onto the hate. It's like he wants to be miserable and angry all the time, like if he lost his hate then he'd lose what makes him who he is. I hear that's how the Uchiha kid used to be but Naruto snapped him out of it which makes me wonder really; why is it Naruto will help others move past their problems but wants to suffer in his own?" Jiraiya asked rhetorically as Hiruzen shook his head from lacking an answer. They'd both met others that held onto their pain but neither understood why they refused to move on.

"I'll speak with him tomorrow after Tsunade takes over this job. Maybe I can get him to lighten up and accept the trip. If not then Kakashi will be talking with him anyways to say goodbye. Hopefully he can help Naruto."


	27. 27

HELLO WORLD! I HAVE RETURNED!

Seriously though, I'm back. If you all recall I got my buddies old laptop when he decided to spring for an upgrade. The result was a very slow and clunky piece of shit I was far too excited for since it let me continue typing. Well it crapped out on me. To the point that it wouldn't even turn on and when I took it to a repair shop they said there was nothing I could do, that it would've been cheaper to buy a new laptop than it would've been to get the parts needed to make that one work. So I got all the data off the hard drive onto my USB and then I chewed out my buddy for giving me that shit. His response was, and I quote: "Why do you think I wanted a new one? I knew that shit was gonna cave soon. I just figured you'd enjoy it till it does. Besides your face right now is hilarious!" And then I kicked him in the nuts and stormed off.

So I've been stuck doing nothing more than reading stories via my phone or the very short time I could get on a friend's laptop or a public one. But it all paid off Tuesday the eleventh, my 23rd birthday. A friend said he knew I was saving up for one and as it was my birthday he gave me a brand new netbook. Straight out of the box and everything so I know it won't crap on me anytime soon. And thus, I am back and I am typing again. And I'm not going to be leaving ever again without a fight.

Now that my big return speech is out of the way, onto review responses before diving into the new chapter.

**Leaf Ranger: **I agree with you that in canon, Jiraiya didn't seem to do much besides touching up Naruto's basics and some help with controlling Kyuubi's chakra. Plus it did seem weird that he would somehow be safer 'traveling with Jiraiya' compared to being 'in a village full of support'. The only excuse I've ever heard that even makes some sense as to why that would work is that with them being constantly on the move Akatsuki wouldn't be able to find them but as it's been shown, Akatsuki found pretty much everybody they went after without much trouble at all rendering that excuse null and void.

As for building a relationship between Naruto and Hinata if Naruto runs, it would be hard. Near impossible really. But I can see ways to do it should I make Naruto run.

**mellra: **You're the first person to have pointed out the similarities between my Naruto and canon Obito. I've gotta say, good job as that is something I've been actually hoping people would notice as it's crucial to future chapters and events in the story.

**FoxFan:** Naruto wouldn't be limited to three tails. It was said in canon that Jiraiya loosened the seal in the hopes that by giving Naruto easier access to Kyuubi's chakra would also make it easier to control but instead it backfired by making him lose control so he tightened it back up. And yet later Naruto went four tails against Orochimaru and then eight against Pain/Nagato. Sure he can't gain total control without the key like canon Naruto but he can reach higher than three if he trains enough.

As for Iwa having two jinchuriki to use against him and Orochimaru, you and a lot of other people have pointed that out. However Orochimaru still thought his plan against Konoha could work despite knowing they had Naruto and plenty of other skilled ninja so why wouldn't he be confident that with the right plan he could simply have Naruto and his own forces against Iwa?

**TigrezzTail:** No Naruto will NEVER get any summons in this story. By the time comes for the final battle, he wouldn't need them as they'd get in his way more than anything else.

**Epic Bloody Poison Goddess: **Sasuke didn't invite Sakura in for dinner, just to talk. Besides, what seems wrong or bad about him being nice to her? Unlike canon where he was an asshole at this point in the story, my Sasuke is something of a loner that prefers to be alone or with friends rather than new people and Sakura is a friend.

**AfterLyfe: **I'll eventually go over why Naruto hates Jiraiya with a passion when he's seemingly forgiven the Hokage but not yet. As for just why he's forgiven the Hokage, I touch on it in here a little but the main reason is because Naruto understands the reasons behind why Sarutobi couldn't be their for him more. Naruto was angry with Sarutobi, and still is to a small extent, but he's for the most part gotten over it and is on decent terms with him. Jiraiya though, his reasons were crap and his attitude pisses Naruto off so he hasn't bothered trying to forgive him at all and is instead only trying to be cordial with him as seen in a few scenes so far. But at times Naruto doesn't even bother with that and simply lets his hate of the man show.

**juuni:** Actually, Koji's parents never personally tried adopting him. A couple Inuzuka did and they tried getting him a place to stay on clan grounds but those were shot down. Naruto still does maintain very good ties with them and stops by at least once a month when time permits. As for their input on his decision, that'll have to wait.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

**27 –** Pros and Cons

Naruto stared silently at the Hero's Stone, his thoughts conflicting on what his future held against what he wanted it to. It had only been a day since Jiraiya told him of the trip and his failed refusal along with his snapping at Sakura. While he felt slightly bad at the latter, he wouldn't apologize for it either as she should have known not to push on subjects she had no say in. She wasn't there, she didn't know Koji or Sakuya, she had never lost someone truly important to her. Thus, he was entirely in the right to snap at her, even if it made him feel a little guilty later.

"Ah, good morning Naruto." The blond didn't even blink or reply as Kakashi came and stood next to him. It was early in the morning so he knew his sensei would show up eventually. It was actually part of why he had come so early, to speak with the man.

"Hello sensei." The teen replied as he gave the man a moment to give his normal silent prayer to the ones written on the Stone before he continued. "I was told you were for this planned training trip." He opened with as the silver haired jonin 'hmmed' in the affirmative. "Why? You know I hate him."

"Because like it or not, he is you're best bet for breaking into the territory of S-rank shinobi Naruto." Was the response as Kakashi glanced down at him with his normal eye. "Jiraiya-sama wants to make up for the past Naruto and he also genuinely cares for you. If he can train you up to stay alive in the coming years, he's going to take it and you should to. Besides, getting out of the village for a while may do you some good. I've seen how fast the standard population switched their attitudes towards you after you're heritage was revealed. I also know for a fact you don't like it much at all."

"I don't. At least the glares were honest, but now they still don't see me. Just my father in place of the demon." Naruto sighed before turning around with his back now to the Stone. "Sensei... I don't want Jiraiya in my life." He admitted getting the man to fully turn his head to him. "He doesn't show up for eleven years and even then it took a tragedy to bring him. Then after checking the seal to make sure Kyuubi is still locked up, he tries to be friendly and helpful as if he was never missing in the first place. It... it just pisses me off. He constantly says he's sorry but then he only tries to make it up to me by offering me training. It's like he's trying to bribe his way into my life and I hate that. I hate him for thinking I'd want that. And now you're all forcing me to go with him. You can try and make it official all you want but that doesn't change the fact that this is nothing more than a way to try and get me to forgive him. If it was really training then we wouldn't have to leave, I mean look how much training I've accomplished here in the village. Why do I have to leave on an extended trip with him just to train?" Naruto pointed out and Kakashi was forced to let out a sigh since from Naruto's point of view it made perfect sense.

"What about Akatsuki Naruto?" The older male pointed out. "They've already made an attempt on you. Jiraiya-sama thinks that by keeping you on the move they won't be able to get to you so easily."

"So I'm safer with only a single strong shinobi to help protect me rather than having a whole village's worth at my back?" The blond retorted drawing Kakashi up short for a moment.

"Well, his reasoning is that by moving they won't be able to find you, meaning no need for the back-up in the first place." He offered, but both felt it was kind of a weak excuse. Naruto only sighed and shook his head before walking off, leaving only a single parting comment as he did.

"I'm not going on that trip sensei. That's final."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"So I heard you went on a date with Uzumaki-san Hinata. Mind sharing?" Kurenai asked as she dismissed the rest of her team from training for the day. The girl let out a small 'eep' before looking to see if Shino or Kiba had heard but if they did they didn't show it as they continued to leave for home. With a slight blush the Hyuuga heiress turned back to her sensei and tried to answer.

"W-why do y-you want to kn-know?" Kurenai on smiled at her daughter in practically all but blood as she place a hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

"Well on one hand I care about you Hinata and only want the best for you. On the other, I'm just interested since I haven't had any plain 'girl' talk with you since I helped you through your-"

"S-sensei!" Hinata interrupted as Kurenai chuckled and started leading the girl into the village. The two headed to a small tea shop Kurenai often took her team too before both getting a cup of their favorite drinks.

"Well?" The jonin prompted getting Hinata's blush to renew as the topic of the discussion was brought back to mind.

"I-it was really nice. He p-paid attention t-to what I s-said and p-paid f-for the meal after. Th-then we went on a sh-short walk through t-the park and th-then he t-took me home." She explained getting the older woman to hum in understanding as she thought it over.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" She asked and Hinata nodded. "Well good. It sounds like he was a perfect gentleman. Would you want to go another date with him?" Again the younger girl nodded. "Wonderful. Maybe he'll actually be the one for you. It'd be nice if you found your perfect man on your first try rather than having to suffer through a heartbreak or two first." Kurenai mused as something came to Hinata and she decided to voice it.

"There w-was one w-weird thing that h-happened sensei."

"Oh?"

"D-during our walk I g-grabbed his hand t-to hold it. A-at first he s-smiled and just held mine b-back, but then h-he held his h-head for a s-second before placing h-his hands in his p-pockets. I th-thought I m-might've done something wrong." Kurenai though about it for a moment for a second, considering everything she knew about Naruto (which admittedly was only slightly more than the rumors and official reports told) before the likely reason came to her.

"I don't think you did anything wrong Hinata. I think that you holding his hand must've reminded him about his old teammate Sakuya and it made him a bit uncomfortable, that's all. He's made it no secret that he loved her so it makes sense that the idea of getting to know another girl is hard for him. By that reasoning it also makes sense that while he'd seem okay with something at first he'd then pull away from it. It just means you'll have to take things slow for him and that you may, more often than expected, have to be the one to actually initiate things." Kurenai explained, inwardly thinking it was ironic that the shy girl would likely have to be the one actively pursuing the rather bold and action oriented boy instead of the other way around. The thought brought a smile to her face as Hinata thought over her sensei's words and nodded her head. If she was right then perhaps instead of waiting for another date she should try to build up the courage to ask him again.

Now the question was how long would that take? After all, the only reason she had the courage to the first time is because Sakura had been teasing her for a week and threatened to spill it herself if she didn't.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Night had fallen over the village as Naruto stood staring at his wall, looking at the picture of his old team along with a picture of his current one he had hung next to it. One was filled with happy memories that ended in tragedy, the other a rather rough start before a good friendship that was still ongoing. The blond wanted things to go back to how they were but also wondered that if they did, would he have ever met Sasuke or Sakura? Would he know about his burden or his parents now? After the massacre, the Sandaime had told him everything as well as how he was going to share knowledge of the Kyuubi after he came back and of his parents after he reached jonin or eighteen depending on which happened first. It had, and still does, angered him but he had gotten over that as the knowledge of the why's behind his decision sunk in.

But now in this new decision being made for him, he fully understood the why's already and he already had counters to them to prevent the decision, as he had shown earlier with Kakashi. He actually planned to go and speak with Tsunade tomorrow after her coronation as the new Godaime Hokage. He was positive Sarutobi would be there as well to help her with her new post so he'd be able to convince both of them at the same time.

While he had mentioned to Sakura yesterday that he didn't think he could change their minds, it didn't mean he wasn't going to try. He just needed some time to build up an argument for his side of the choice they wanted to force on him. After he had snapped at her and calmed down he had thought over the coming trip from every angle he could think of, all the pros and cons to it, and everything that would happen both during and after the trip. Then he had started thinking of ways to argue his point and came up with what he had said this morning.

The blond took one last glance at the pictures before sighing and going to bed. He'd do his best in the morning.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Tsunade-sama, Uzumaki Naruto is here to see you." Shizune spoke from the door, having taken over the secretary job just as the woman took over leadership. The busty blond looked up, as did her sensei who was sitting on the couch against the wall to help if she requested it, Shizune took that as an okay to let the teen in. The boy came forward as Shizune closed the door behind him and returned to her own work. He gave a quick smile to the Sandaime, one both adults noticed was slightly strained, before turning his attention on the woman.

"So, Uzumaki Naruto. What can I do for you as my first visitor as Hokage?" Tsunade asked as she crossed her hands on the desk in front of her.

"Well first I guess would be to thank you for healing me since I never did that and also a congratulations on your new rank." He started as she simply nodded, knowing that while he probably was thankful the comments were more pleasantries and formality than what he actually wanted. In fact she was willing to bet her life that she knew exactly what he wanted and had been expecting it to come the second she accepted the hat. "But as I'm sure you know, I'm really here because I want to speak about the upcoming training trip you plan on assigning me to take with your teammate Jiraiya."

And the Legendary Sucker wins another bet, how many does that make now? That number had to have reached at least ten sometime during her extended leave right?

"You're right, I figured you'd be coming in sooner or later to speak about that so I'll let you say your part and then I'll say mine. So go ahead." The woman commented getting Naruto to take a deep breath and close his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts before focusing on the new Kage and beginning.

"As I'm sure Sandaime-sama has told you I hate the man on a personal level. However I know that alone isn't reason enough as shinobi are consistently made to do things they don't like so I won't go into detail about it. The purpose of this trip officially is to get me ready to face Akatsuki as we know they want the biju. However I feel I can continue my training here to achieve the same results. In just under a year and a half with only help from scrolls left by my parents, Kakashi-sensei, and the small occasional other I've managed to progress from a mere chunin hopeful into a ninja capable of taking down the Ichibi on my own. I'm not denying that I will need more training to be capable of fighting Akatsuki on equal terms, however I feel it would be better if I continue to train here. This way I'll still be available for missions as well as within the village and able to receive backup should Akatsuki try to claim me again. Also, if it has to be Jiraiya then the man can simply train me here when he has the time as he has done before, stopping by with some help when I needed it in between trips for his spy network. On the other hand if I'm sent out with Jiraiya, I'll be forced off the village's roster during the time and my only help against a possible Akatsuki attack would be Jiraiya himself. While he is no doubt one of the strongest in the village right now, two S-rank criminals at once would be difficult and that's not taking into account the possibility of Akatsuki sending more than a single pair for my capture." Naruto stopped for a moment to see if their was anything else he could think of before sighing. "On a more personal note I think I may get in the way of his duties to his spy network and I'm positive that he'd likely spend just as much time going to brothels and peeking on women as he would training me and that would really just anger me and drive unneeded tension between us."

Tsunade waited a moment to be sure he was done before nodding her head and going over her own thoughts. "Well that was all very well thought out and delivered, and you're right on a few points however now for my reasoning on why despite that, you're still going." She started as he scowled but stayed silent. "One, you wouldn't be taken off the roster, just temporarily put on our list for field agents like Jiraiya himself meaning I'll send you missions that I feel you and the man can do nearby whatever location you'd currently be at. Two, while Jiraiya will be keeping up with his spy network and would leave you to your own devices during those periods, he has sworn he will hold back on his perverted habits to fully devote that attention to your training. In fact upon return you will tell me if he upheld that promise and if he hasn't I will personally castrate him and miss-heal the wound so that he'll be scarred for life." The woman paused here as the teen couldn't help but let out a slight grin before it fell at how he was still being forced to go with the man. "And third, the main reason you can't train here is because the biggest thing Jiraiya plans on training you in is controlling the Kyuubi's chakra. Doing so in the village runs the risk of multiple civilian casualties should you lose control whereas if you do in the wilderness somewhere that risk is practically non-existent." Naruto kept his scowl as he tried to think of a way around her reasoning and could only fall back on his own feelings against the man, which as shinobi meant very little in their line of work. Tsunade could even see as realization fell on him and he grit his teeth before giving a curt nod.

"I understand. Thank you for your time Hokage-sama." With another short bow the teen left as Tsunade sighed, an action mirrored by Sarutobi on the couch.

"You handled that well Tsunade. Naruto-kun may be angry but he is a loyal shinobi and seeing no other avenue he'll go along with the trip now. Admittedly begrudgingly but still of his own free will." The man offered up as the woman nodded.

"Is he always that bad tempered?" She asked as she glanced at him and saw him shaking his head.

"Only when things concern Jiraiya, Iwa, or Kyuubi. Otherwise he's respectful enough and light-hearted for the most part. It's just he really dislikes Jiraiya for seemingly ignoring him for the first eleven years of his life and then the man's attitude gets on his nerves, even though before losing his old teammates he was much the same way. Without the perversion though." The man added as an afterthought since Tsunade looked like she was about to comment on having another Jiraiya was a bad thing. She sighed again but nodded her head as she spun her chair around to look out the window at the village.

"Well, I guess he'll either get over it or the man will come back with a few new scars."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto was angry as he left the Hokage's Tower and for the second time in only three days he spun around ready to attack when someone reached out for his shoulder to grab his attention. This time though it wasn't his teammate Sakura but Hinata, who flinched back at his glare and looked away. "S-sorry!" She cried and was about to leave but couldn't as Naruto grabbed her arm.

"N-no, I am. I just got through talking with Tsunade-sama and I'm still a little angry about it. I didn't mean to snap at you." The blond apologized. The girl timidly looked back at him, his eyes especially before nodding as he let her arm go. "Anyways, you wanted me for something?" He asked as she had been the one to initiate this meeting. She nodded her head as she began blushing. The girl was trying to work up the nerve to ask what she wanted but was also weary of doing it in front of everyone on the streets. Naruto happened to notice how she'd occasionally send a quick glance at nearby civilians before sighing with a light smile. "You know, I'm kind of hungry. If you want, we can talk about it over some lunch." The teen offered as Hinata nodded, not trusting her voice.

This was exactly what she wanted in the first place!

Naruto led the girl to Ichiraku's for some ramen as they spoke about some light subjects on the way. Upon arriving and placing their orders Naruto turned to her with a small smile. "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Th-this." She nervously admitted. "I w-was hoping t-to ask you to lunch." Naruto blinked before chuckling at how he had already given her what she wanted without realizing it. Hinata smiled herself at getting him to lighten up since he had seemed so angry when she saw him on the street. It was why she had tried to ask him right there instead of waiting a little longer, she wanted to cheer him up.

"Well then, it looks like that problems' already been solved." He commented as he did his best to not focus on his recent problematic talk with Tsunade. "So anything new with your team?" He asked, hoping to keep conversation going. Hinata shook her head.

"Not r-really." She admitted as she thought if she should tell him about her talk with her sensei before deciding to keep that secret. It was just some advice for her, even if it was about him. "I w-was wondering though i-if m-maybe w-we c-could d-do s-s-someth-thing to-to-togeth-ther l-lat-ter?" He stuttering acting up form her nervousness at the end making it hard for Naruto to understand what she was asking.

"Sorry, but could you repeat that? Your stutter got really bad there and I'm not sure I heard right." The girl ducked her head down and poked her fingers together as she looked away.

"S-sorry!" The blond shook his head as he turned her attention back on him by placing a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"Don't apologize. It's alright. We'll just have to work through that by giving you some more confidence in yourself. Now let's try that again, but this time go a little slower and try not to stutter. Whatever it is you want to ask me, I promise to answer honestly and not to make fun of it or you." The girl nodded and took a deep breath before trying again.

"C-could we do something together l-later?" She asked as Naruto grinned.

"See? Much better." He praised before actually thinking on her question and sighing as he started to frown. "As for the question though, sorry to say but no. I think this'll be it for a while."

"W-why? Did... did I d-do s-something t-to offend y-you? O-or d-do you just n-not want t-to see m-me anymore?" The girl asked, already feeling like she'd be heartbroken over getting rejected so quickly. Seeing her expression Naruto was quick to wave his hands frantically as if to say no.

"No no! It's got nothing to do with you! You're great, really!" He admitted getting her to calm down as he sighed in both relief at avoiding hurting her feelings and depression as the reason why he'd be unable to fulfill her request came back up. And he'd been hoping to avoid thinking about his talk with Tsunade and the subject it covered. "It's just that I'll be leaving the village soon. Tomorrow at the earliest I think. I also don't know when exactly I'll be back. Could be a year, might be three or four. I'm not sure how long it'll take entirely." He explained as Hinata sadly nodded her understanding.

"Th-then how a-about when you g-get back?" She offered as the blond was surprised for a moment. She'd really be willing to wait that long for what he still saw as only a possible relationship? He figured that would've discouraged her enough that she'd be likely to find someone else by the time of his return. And yet, she was willing to wait for him? They only had one date! Two if she wanted to count their current lunch. Was that really enough? The blond chuckled as the thoughts all sunk in and he gave her an answer.

"Sure, but I want you to promise me something too."

"What?" Hinata asked, curious as to what he may want. They both paused as Ayame came out with their meals, a simple bowl of chicken ramen for her and three miso ramen for Naruto to start with. The blond picked up his chopsticks and took a slurp of his food before pointing them at her.

"I want you to work on that stutter. It's cute but you should be more confident in yourself. When I come back I don't want to hear you trip over every couple of words when just talking with people." The girl blushed at how he casually called her stutter cute as he chuckled and went back to his food. Hinata was about to answer but paused to take another deep breath and focus herself, eager to take a good first step to really dealing with her speaking problem that he asked her to fix.

"Okay. I promise." Naruto grinned and patted her on the back, making her smile in turn, before he motioned to her food and told her to eat up.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

_'What should I do?'_ Naruto thought as he was sitting on his bed, looking at the scroll in front of him. The scroll was closed, hiding it's contents but it wasn't as if he didn't know them, having read them multiple times in the past two days. Naruto was trying to think if he should follow the orders written in the scroll or if he should instead turn it in to the Hokage for her and the Sandaime to go over.

It was the scroll Kabuto left him with the offer from Orochimaru.

On one hand he could do as it said; kill the Juugo person he had fought and burnt beyond saving so that Konoha I & T didn't get anything out of him about Orochimaru's plans and bases. Then he would flee to the Snake Sannin and join his forces for an eventual assault on Iwa. If he really wanted to prove himself loyal as well as truly get into the snake's good graces he could free the captured kunoichi from the Invasion and bring Sasuke with him when he left. Orochimaru would be extremely happy then and would be willing to give Naruto a favor or two, which the blond wasn't even sure he'd do with.

On the other hand though, he could hand it over to the Hokage's, past and present, and let them do with it what they will. Obviously they'd tighten all their security measures and even change a few since the scroll had a very detailed map, personal schedule and plan required for breaking into an ANBU headquarters that would no doubt succeed should he decide to take it. That's a massive security breach they'd be forced to fix. Meanwhile Naruto would be forced onto a trip with the man he hates most in the world for a period of at least a couple years to train in a power he'd like nothing to do with.

Both had their ups and downs. Giving into Orochimaru would lead to achieving his goal of destroying Iwagakure but would cut him off from his friends as he'd become a missing nin. Staying loyal would strengthen the village's security and let him stay with the people he cared about but would force him with Jiraiya for a trip and likely leave Iwa alone forever.

Naruto's struggle was that he had to decide now, tonight, because tomorrow he'd be forced to leave with Jiraiya as the man was doing a small check with his network just outside the village before leaving with him and wouldn't be back until around noon. Glancing at his clock he saw that it was nine o'clock, nearing decision time since according to the scroll ten was the best time to sneak in for what he needed.

What would his friends, both past and present, want him to do? Kakashi was with Jiraiya in wanting him to give it up, both the goal and the hatred behind it. Sakura had made her opinion known in agreeing with the two of them. He didn't know Sasuke but could guess that he might approve seeing as how he wanted vengeance of his own but also might be against it as it meant turning on the village. He could only guess at what Koji and Sakuya would've wanted and that led to mixed answers. Koji wasn't one for needless hate or killing but neither was he one to let an insult go. He'd have charged in for revenge the second Naruto and Sakuya had died, but would he have felt his revenge was finished after killing only a few or would he have held on like Naruto and blamed the entire village? As for Sakuya, she tried to let things go as much as possible but if someone truly hurt her friends then she was perfectly okay with putting them down and then moving on. Naruto did put the guilty down but with something like this, where his precious ones weren't merely hurt but completely killed, would she have let it go?

This is why he always avoided the topic of would they agree with his wish for Iwa's destruction. Not because he thought they would've hated him for it and refused to go along with it, but because he wasn't entirely sure on whether or not they'd join him in his quest. It was one thing to know you were against someone's wishes and doing it anyways, it was another entirely when there was an equal chance of them agreeing or disagreeing with you. That conflict has always only driven him back into his memories as he tried to truly figure out their answer but never could.

And as for his parents, they were just as mixed. Jiraiya would say they'd be disappointed in him but the truth was not that clear cut. To protect his mother, his father had charged a squad of Kumo ninjas and killed them without a second thought. When her home had been destroyed, his mother had been on the front-lines, demanding revenge. And then his father had been perfectly fine with slaughtering hundreds of enemies in a single battle when the time came so really; how can Jiraiya know for sure they'd be disappointed when they had done acts already similar to what he was and was wishing to do?

"_Watch. Watch and see what you failed to protect."_

Naruto growled lightly as Itachi's words echoed in his head again. Sure he'd been dealing with nightmares ever since the actual event but those would only be when he'd fall asleep or someone would hit him with a truly horrible genjutsu, something that had only happened in training twice before Kakashi saw just how badly it was affecting him and stopped. However what Itachi had done was drawn every detail with perfect clarity and then forced him to watch repeatedly for days on end while constantly mocking him, constantly reinforcing his survivor's guilt by telling him it truly was his fault. Had he not gone to the exams then they wouldn't have been singled out just for being teammates with the Yondaime's son. Had he never forced his friendship on them then they'd have chosen to run and leave him to while they'd survive. Had he never been placed with them, they'd never have gotten killed for him. Before this Naruto had believed it was his fault, but now he knew for a fact it was his fault.

Staring at the scroll in front of him Naruto continued to debate the offer it represented before glancing again at the clock. Nine-thirty. It was essentially decision time and Naruto sighed as he finally made his choice. He just knew that somehow, in someway, he was going to regret this for years to come while at the same time he would follow his choice until the end. Which is why he stood and grabbed the scroll before leaving his house, security seals activating as he left walking for his destination of the night.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

**Author's Note: **Kind of short but at least I'm back right? Anyways, next chapter will fully give away his choice as I've purposely added just as many hints towards one as I have to the other to leave it unknown as well as show Naruto's turmoil in making this decision. I'm gonna post the next chapter soon and I'll keep with this until I finish part one like I promised so long ago.

In other news, during my time away from typing I've been writing in a notebook plot outlines and ideas for this and other stories as well as plans and ideas for future stories. In fact this story, my Shinku Akuma story and my Infinite Stars story are fully planned out to their ending so all that's left is fleshing out those outlines into actual chapters. For my other stories I've gotten lots of ideas and a pretty good outline for a long time coming so I shouldn't stop typing anytime soon.

I've also come up with some more stories so expect at least three more soon after I finish part one of this and then maybe more as time comes on. A little hint as to plot is that one is a Naruto/Kill la Kill crossover, then a Naruto/Magic the Gathering crossover and the last is a Naruto/Percy Jackson crossover. So hopefully you'll check them out when I finally post them.

So please review and favorite as I get to work on the next chapter. I'm finally back and have no intention of leaving anytime soon.


	28. 28

**Cerulean Knight: **He won't do both because Naruto himself feels he can't. They really want him on this training trip and he feels they wouldn't authorize an undercover mission, especially since he's their jinchuriki and isn't meant for stealth missions, something Naruto himself would agree with as deception is not his strong suit.

As for his problem with Jiraiya, if you notice he has been trying to be cordial at the least. The problem has been that other circumstances have set his temper off so that he couldn't bother to act nice. There have been a few scenes of Naruto being nice to him though, such as taking off the Gogyo Fuin or getting dating advice.

And I don't need weapon ideas. Not only have everyone's fighting styles for this story already been decided, I have plenty of ideas of my own for my other stories.

**December 25****th:** Ah, so you noticed that. That was the only tell to which choice Naruto was making.

**FoxFan: **Naruto knows of Danzo but has already been engrained with Sarutobi's, Kakashi's and Jiraiya's distrust of the man without even trying to he stays away from him. Plus Sarutobi has been making sure Danzo stays away from Naruto as well so they have no contact with each other.

**Exiled-druid:** It does seem like Naruto's power is shifting as the story goes on but that's more because he's facing different enemies whose own skills match up differently against Naruto's. It's not an intentional mismatch but just how I feel the fights would go with the characters in them.

**Uraharaisgod:** Tayuya's fate is revealed in this chapter.

**Author's Note:** Just about all the other reviews were just asking me to do this or that and why they think I should but to be honest this is another of the moments I had planned from the beginning along with the Naruto vs Gaara fight. So despite me giving hints either way or doing this or that to throw peoples opinions to either side, this was always going to happen. So enjoy the chapter everyone.

**28 – **So Close

How long had she been here? How long since that old, white haired bastard had made some squiggles that somehow knocked her out THROUGH a barrier? How long since men and women of Konoha locked her in a room, strapped her to a table and began poking and prodding to figure out her curse seal while also asking questions to learn about her masters plans, hideouts, and resources?

Tayuya hardly ever answered with anything other than curses and hardly with those anymore either. She was tired, hungry, and cold as the time went on. Lifeless almost. It had become clear to her after waking up that she was a goner. Orochimaru made sure all his subordinates knew that while victory and loyalty were rewarded, failures were either killed or left behind. That she hadn't been killed yet told her that either Orochimaru didn't think much of her, despite her relatively high spot in his ranks, or that he simply had been unable to send someone in to kill her. She was betting the former more than the latter but wasn't ruling out the possibility of it either.

Tayuya blinked when she heard footsteps coming up the hall. Her enhanced hearing, something Orochimaru experimented with on her to a success, could tell by the steps it was someone wearing the standard sandals of their profession, that they were alone and that they weren't bothering to hide themselves. That last part told her that it wasn't an assassin Orochimaru finally managed to sneak in while the first two told her that someone in the cells of this hall was about to have another session with the ANBU.

The girl listened somewhat closely to see where they stopped so she would know who was the 'lucky' chosen. Secretly she hoped it was the man three cells past her. His screaming curses were always fun to hear and were really the only source of amusement she's had since being locked up. However she only closed her eyes when the footsteps stopped in front of her door. Her turn again then. They always came at random times to throw off a prisoners estimation of time. Once she had only gotten a ten minute break, another she swore lasted at least a day and a half. She was sure it had been a few hours since her last session though so she figured this was coming. At least with only one person, it wouldn't be anything major.

It was a very small comfort. She felt disgusted with herself for even being reduced to looking forward to those.

The door opened as she kept her eyes closed, knowing they'd 'wake' her if she didn't respond when they started to talk. She wasn't going to make things easier for them in any way if she could help it. She waited a bit as the figure closed the door behind themselves and was likely looking at her. Perhaps they were some pervert getting a bit of sick pleasure in looking at her naked body? Her clothes had been removed when she was brought in as a simple demoralizing tactic, they had even waited until she woke up just to show her how powerless she was to stop them from ripping them right off her. Eventually she heard steps and held back a sigh, knowing that whatever torture they had planned was about to start. She felt the person unlocking her restraints so she guessed he was only their to grab her and drag her to another part of the facility for her session. However she was surprised when after unlocking her arms and legs, something soft was dropped on her chest and the person took a step back, not doing anything to her.

"Tayuya, one of the Sound Four under Orochimaru?" Came the question, making her snap her eyes open. She hadn't told them of her title as a member of the Sound Four, or even that such a title existed. So how did this guy know it? Finally glancing down she saw a simple black blanket and looking to the side showed her a blond teen a year or two younger than her holding a her picture in one hand along with a small silver flute in the other.

"Who..." Tayuya coughed for a moment as her throat was somewhat dry from screaming so much in her last torture session. "Who the fuck are you?" She asked as she sat up and wrapped the blanket around herself. "And how the hell do you know that shit?" He didn't answer and instead simply handed her the photo and flute before turning back to the door and checking the hallway. The girl looked to see that while on one side was a picture of her, on the other was her name, age and a small map leading from whatever entrance he used straight to her cell. It was also written in writing she recognized as Kabuto's from reports he had filled out. "...the fuck is going on? What the hell do you want blondie?" She asked as she grabbed the flute, obviously for her, as she wanted to know what the boy wanted. He was wearing a Konoha headband but obviously was doing something involving her for Orochimaru.

"What I want?" He repeated as he pulled his head back in from the hallway and glanced at her. "What I want is a guide."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Come on Sasuke, open the door already." Naruto muttered as he knocked on the home of his teammate. He knew it was late, ten forty-five actually, but as shinobi they were trained to get up at a moments notice so Sasuke should show already. The blond was about to knock again when the door opened revealing the dark eyes of his obviously sleepy teammate.

"Naruto? What's going on? Why're you here so late?" The Uchiha heir asked before yawning as he opened the door fully instead of the simple crack he had given.

"Yes I know what time it is, and sorry for waking you. But you and I have been requested for an important mission so you've gotta get up." Naruto explained getting the Uchiha to raise a brow as the sleep slowly started leaving his expression.

"I thought you were being forced on some trip with Jiraiya by the Hokage's orders?" He asked and Naruto grimaced at the reminder before shaking his head.

"Was. I spoke with Tsunade about it and actually managed to convince her surprisingly." He lied before diving back into why he came. "But it came with a catch in that I've gotta do a few missions for her. This is one of them. One of our deep cover spies has managed to sneak off from their target to come back and give us some vital info. They need a couple young chunin or jonin to fake joining the group so that we can take it down from within. As a jinchuriki I can simply call on Kyuubi to bring whatever place down really fast and Tsunade wanted someone she knows I can work with and that has complementary skills to come with so I suggested you since your Sharingan would be a major advantage and she agreed." Sasuke sighed but nodded his head and turned back to his house.

"Let me get my stuff."

"Pack light and meet at the main gate in twenty." Naruto replied as the door closed. Now knowing that Sasuke was coming Naruto looked up at the sky to gauge the time before dispersing in a poof of smoke, revealing that it was a clone the entire time.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"When Sasuke comes, you play the part of our deep cover agent guiding us to the enemy we're going to bring down. You've taken a couple soldier pills and protein bars so you should be fine on energy so I don't care if you complain that you're hungry or anything else. You just guide us to Oto and then we're done. Got it?" Naruto reviewed as he stowed away the chunin gate guards he had knocked unconscious. Just because he was leaving for Orochimaru didn't mean he had to kill another Konoha shinobi. This was still his home and he still felt loyalty to it, he just couldn't go along with them deciding his life anymore or with them holding him back from his goal.

"I got it dipshit, quit worrying." The red haired girl replied. She had raided a clothing store on the way here so she wasn't naked and was now dress in a tan short sleeved top with a purple sash with black hakama pants. She also had on a pair of black shinobi sandals and Naruto had given her a kunai pouch with a few basics she strapped to her waist. In the pouch were the mentioned pills and food, things she had greedily eaten so that she wouldn't feel like shit and would be able to play her part.

"Yeah well this is important so I'm making sure." He replied as he made a couple clones that used a Henge (Transformation) to look like the guards and even took their places at the gate check station. Naruto had explained the plan to her on the way, in that she was a deep cover agent for Konoha in one of Orochimaru's major bases and had rushed to Konoha only that morning. By making it such a short time, they could wave off any exhaustion or hunger related complaints she might slip during the trip by logically saying she had been in such a rush that she hadn't had any sleep or food. Naruto would inform Sasuke that they were going to Orochimaru on the way but wouldn't say that it was a true defection until they actually arrived. If Sasuke was against it then Naruto would try to convince him otherwise as he didn't want to have to force his friend into this if it could be avoided. If anything he felt Sasuke may be willing to join himself in return for help against Itachi like he was for help against Iwa.

The blond hadn't been told Sasuke had already refused this very offer.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair as he double checked his pockets to make sure he had everything he'd be keeping. A scroll with all his inheritance left from his parents, one with extra weapons and supplies, another with some spare clothes, and then a final one with a few sentimental memento's such as pictures of his old team and even one of his current. After this, there'd be no coming back to Konoha as a free and loyal shinobi. He'd be labeled a missing ninja and would forever be on the run. While he'd never make a move against his home and would never spill it's secrets, he'd pose too great a threat to Konoha's security for them to ignore. If word got out that the village lost their jinchuriki, it was even possible that war could break out. But he had to risk it. Besides, after their display against Suna and Oto, the other villages would be wary and they could keep his defection from spreading long enough to build up whatever counter-measures they'd need.

Both turned as Sasuke landed from the roofs and walked over. Naruto nodded as Tayuya just placed a hand on her hip and raised a brow, recognizing the boy as the Uchiha that her master was currently obsessed with. "So this is our agent?" He asked as he got close.

"Yep. Her name's Tayuya and she'll be guiding us to the base. I already signed us out with the guards so we can go if you've got everything." Naruto told him with a slight gesture at his disguised clones. Sasuke merely shrugged with the pack on his back so Naruto turned to the girl. "Well then, lead the way."

"Right. Keep up then." The three vanished out the gates, Naruto's clones dispelling five minutes later.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Sakura let out a light yawn as she walked through the Uchiha district to Sasuke's home. Seeing as how today was the day Naruto was supposed to be leaving, she figured they could go do something together before he left. After all, even though he had gotten angry at her she still would call him a friend. And Sasuke had pointed out to her that she just needed to give him a bit of space for a while and he'd forgive her. So the girl felt that as long as she avoided that subject, their blond teammate wouldn't be opposed to spending time with her and Sasuke as a team before his trip.

As Sakura neared Sasuke's house she noticed a small square piece of paper near the handle with both her name and Kakashi's written on it. Curious she grabbed it and read.

_Sakura, Kakashi – I've left on a mission with Naruto in the night. If you want details you'll have to ask Tsunade and hope they aren't classified. Hopefully we'll see you when we get back._

_Uchiha Sasuke_

The pinkette sighed as she folded the note and started to walk off towards the Hokage tower. On one hand she was annoyed at getting left out. On the other, she was happy to know he was okay. She also idly noticed that if Naruto was on the mission with him that meant he had somehow convinced Tsunade to drop the trip, something that made her think his mood would be infinitely better when she next saw him upon his return. Since both her teammates were off on a mission and with nothing better to do, Sakura felt she may as well see if she could get a small one as well. Perhaps even ask about her teammates to know what they were up to.

Giving a simple hello to Shizune and then asking to see Tsunade was a quick affair as she was quickly allowed in. As it was early in the morning the woman was only just getting started on the day's paperwork and her sensei was not in the room, promising to stop by later and let her run things on her own to get truly used to it. Sakura stood at attention and gave a light bow to the blond as she looked up while signing a paper. "Good morning Hokage-sama."

Tsunade sighed as she set the pen down to focus on the young chunin in front of her. "...Gonna have to get used to that... So how can I help you?" She asked.

"I was just wondering if there were any C-rank missions I could do as both my teammates are out on a mission of their own. If not then that's fine, I can get some more training in then instead." Tsunade nodded her head at the request before looking through the mission papers for current C-ranks, knowing the girl in front of her was familiar for a reason she hadn't connected with yet.

"Well there are a few that need to be done and can be handled solo. What's your name and what're your skills so I know which to assign?" She asked getting Sakura to smile.

"Haruno Sakura and I'm mostly a genjutsu type with a bit of close combat and just starting some medical training." Tsunade gave another glance at the girl before smiling lightly and going back to the papers.

"That's good. The village can always use new medics. Keep your ears open for when I get around to opening a medic nin program at the hospital. If you pass the requirements then your training in that area will be handled by me and my apprentice in some special courses." Sakura nodded as the familiarity of the girl finally clicked with her. "Wait a moment... Haruno right? You're teammates are Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto correct?"

"Uh, yes Hokage-sama." Sakura answered as her face shifted to confusion.

"Why'd you say they're on a mission? I've given no orders to the Uchiha and Uzumaki is set to leave on an extended trip with Jiraiya later today." She explained as Sakura looked very confused now.

"But when I went to get Sasuke-kun this morning, there was this note on his door saying he was on a mission with Naruto." Tsunade went wide-eyed and demanded the note so Sakura was quick to hand it over. However before the busty blond could even open it the door was thrown open as a chunin rushed in.

"Tsunade-sama! We have urgent news about Uzumaki-san! Last night he assaulted the guards at the main gate along with a kunoichi captured during the Invasion! We believe he has fled the village!" Tsunade growled as she also quickly scanned the note Sakura gave her before slamming it down.

"And he may a tricked a teammate into going with it." Sakura looked very confused now as she couldn't believe Naruto would do such a thing but was drawn out of her thoughts as the Hokage jabbed a finger at her. "Quickly gather whatever ninja you think would help best in tracking them down. As a teammate you should have the best idea of why Uzumaki would leave and what he'd be doing bringing the Uchiha with him so you'll lead that team out to bring them back. You have my permission to use force in case things get violent so long as both are brought back alive! Now go!" Sakura snapped to attention before rushing out, still not trusting the chunin's report that Naruto would attack a fellow Konoha shinobi and leave.

However in the office Tsunade wasn't finished. "And you will head to ANBU I & T and have them tell me if they're missing any prisoners or personnel and why. Go!" The man bowed before vanishing in a Shunshin (Body Flicker) to do his duty. Tsunade slumped back into her chair as she sighed and ran a hand over her face. "Go willingly my ass sensei. The little brat went rogue over this." She muttered as she looked down at the paperwork on her desk. How could she focus on that now with this crisis going on?

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"You're absolutely sure about that?"

"I've already told you Kiba, that's the mission!" Sakura shouted as she was already pacing back and forth in front of the gate as she waited for the others she had grabbed. Kiba was there along with Akamaru, as was Neji. The only one left to wait for was Shikamaru but since he was the last she had grabbed, she knew he'd also be the last to arrive. The males of the group were wondering if they had heard right as Sakura had told them they were given the mission of retrieving Sasuke and Naruto, but wouldn't say why or from what. She refused to until they were all there and on the way out.

Thinking on the group though led them to find it very sound. Kiba and Akamaru could track them down with their sense of smell while Neji could both look for them and cover them with his eyes. Sakura would cover them with her illusions and use her budding medical skills to bandage them up if things went wrong while Shikamaru could come up with a sound plan that would let them escape or fight off whatever enemies they encountered.

"Alright, I'm here." Shikamaru announced as he landed in front of them from running, something he loathed doing but Sakura sounded incredibly urgent when she grabbed him for the mission.

"Then let's go. Kiba, you and Akamaru are in front. You've finished getting a scent from the item I gave you right?" She asked as he nodded his head, Akamaru doing the same. "Then lead. I'll be next with Shikamaru behind me and Neji bringing up the rear and keeping an eye out with his Byakugan. Now let's move!" Sakura ordered as the others said nothing but took off for the trees, shifting into position a moment later.

"Now that we're all together, would you mind telling us just what we're getting Naruto and Sasuke back from?" Kiba asked, keeping his eye in front of him while focusing on Sasuke's scent. Sakura waited a moment as she went over her thoughts and wondered how to tell them the news.

"...From themselves, or at least Naruto." Almost literally feeling their confusion in the air Sakura began to explain. "This morning I went to pick up Sasuke-kun for a team meeting since Naruto was slated for a trip with Jiraiya-sama. It would've been one last group get together before he left. However when I showed up at Sasuke-kun's house, I found a note he left for me and Kakashi-sensei saying he was grabbed for a mission with Naruto. When I went to Tsunade-sama for my own mission and mentioned it, she told me that neither of them were actually given a mission. Then a chunin came in with news that Naruto had knocked out the gate guards last night with one of the Oto prisoners from the Invasion. Judging from Sasuke-kun's note we know he's with them so Tsunade-sama tasked me with making a team to go out and bring them back."

"That makes no sense. Why would Naruto-san leave the village with an enemy and trick Uchiha-san into coming with?" Neji asked as Shikamaru's eyes narrowed and Kiba was struggling to keep his focus on the scent with how shocked and confused he was.

"Naruto didn't want to go on the trip with Jiraiya-sama. He hates the man and wants nothing to do with him. Plus Jiraiya-sama is always trying to get Naruto to give up on his hatred of Iwa." Sakura continued explaining. "Considering he left with an Oto kunoichi, I'd be willing to bet some kind of agent for Orochimaru either got in contact with Naruto or left him something that offered him a way to strike at Iwa. I'm betting he freed that prisoner either because she was important or to be his guide while he grabbed Sasuke-kun because Orochimaru wants him for his Sharingan." The pinkette guessed with what she knew of Naruto. It was also the only way she'd guess Sasuke would go since he had told her of Orochimaru's interest in him and his refusal to have anything to do with the man.

"So should we treat Naruto has a hostile?" Shikamaru asked as Neji's eyes widened at the question, Kiba also shocked at the implication. Sakura actually stumbled and had to catch herself, assuring them she was fine a moment later. "I mean, if Naruto really has turned traitor, then he won't want to come back. If Sasuke was tricked into this then we can expect his support once we expose this defection attempt for what it really is. Or does Sasuke have any reason to abandon the village?" He asked as the possibility entered his mind.

"No. Sasuke-kun told me he was actually offered a spot in Orochimaru's forces but he refused. He wants nothing to do with that traitor." Sakura responded instantly before thinking about Naruto. "Hokage-sama said force is authorized as long as they're brought back alive... but I don't know. When we catch up, we should try to convince Naruto first to come back. If things get violent though..." Sakura grit her teeth for a second and scowled, already hating herself for the order she was going to give. "If he won't come back willingly then we have to subdue him and drag him back."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"So, how long until we arrive?" Sasuke asked as he hopped through the trees at a pace only slightly faster than casual. Naruto looked back slightly before shrugging and glancing back at Tayuya in front of them. As their guide, she'd know that better than he would. Feeling their stares the girl growled before glancing back with a scowl.

"Soon shit-head. We'll be at the border in around ten minutes and the base is only about an hour after that." The two teammates glanced at each other as Sasuke had a contemplative look on his face.

"You know, it's kind of refreshing to meet a girl near our age from Konoha, besides Sakura that isn't afraid to say what she wants around me. Most are so busy fawning over me I'm not used to it." Naruto snorted with a grin as they kept running.

"I hear ya. Ever since I let my heritage out it's been nothing but Uzumaki-sama this, Namikaze-sama that. No wonder you thought you were the best before I brought you down. Growing up with that shit for years would give anyone and inflated ego. It's already pissing me off to." The blond shot back as Sasuke just nodded.

"Well neither of you shits are gonna have to worry about that soon. The fucking boss only cares about results, get good ones and you're fine. Fuck up and he fucks you up." Tayuya cut in, having heard their comments and rolling her eyes at them.

"That reminds me, I haven't been told where we're going yet. I know we're playing deep cover agents here to bring it down from the inside, but I still have no clue just who or what we're going up against." The Uchiha commented, getting Tayuya to go silent and Naruto to look away as he thought of how to tell Sasuke the truth.

"We're going undercover in Oto." He said quietly as Sasuke narrowed his eyes for a moment before they widened.

"Wait a minute, Oto? As in the village run by Orochimaru? We're going against him?" Sasuke asked as Naruto still wouldn't look at him, but nodded all the same. "Naruto... I don't think this is a good idea." He admitted getting Naruto to face him as they came out of the woods to a clearing split by a large river that ran down a canyon. On both sides of the canyon, facing one another, were giant stone statues of Konoha's founding fathers; Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

Tayuya hardly spared it a glance before jumping across to land on Madara's head and moving on as Sasuke spared a look at the two statues before following along to Madara's head and stopping to wait for Naruto. The blond himself though stopped on Hashirama's head and was looking down. "What do you mean Sasuke? We know he has an interest in you, that's part of why you were picked. He'll be blinded by you willingly joining so he won't suspect that much in the way of treachery from you. It's the same with me."

"That might've been true had I not already refused this offer Naruto." The blond's eyes went wide at Sasuke's admission. "Look, I only gave the bare basics when I told you about finding Tsunade and facing Orochimaru and Kabuto. What I didn't say was that during my fight with Kabuto, he told me Orochimaru would willingly take me and train me up to face Itachi. I told him though that I don't want that at the cost of betraying Konoha. I said I'd rather be with my friends in my home rather than all powerful as a traitor." Sasuke explained as Naruto grit his teeth and looked away.

"You couldn't have mentioned this earlier? I wouldn't have chosen you had I known that Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as the Uchiha sighed. "Well it's to late to head back now! You'll just have to say you changed you mind or something because you're going with me." Sasuke nodded his head, understanding Naruto's point about it being too late to back down now. He had already accepted the mission, he had to see it through now.

"Naruto! Sasuke-kun!" Both froze and turned back towards the woods as they heard Sakura's voice calling their names. It was only a minute later she came out of the treeline and landed in front of Naruto, the rest of her quickly made team coming out behind her. "Thank Kami we caught up before you crossed the border. Look, you guys have to come back!" She pleaded as Sasuke looked confused and Naruto merely had his head down, hiding his expression.

"What're you talking about Sakura? This is a mission, we can't turn back now." Sasuke asked as the girl looked to him in both relief and understanding.

"That's just it Sasuke-kun, it's not! Neither of you should've left! Tsunade-sama sent us to bring you back!" Sasuke looked even more confused before glancing at Naruto. The girl also turned her other teammate as he still kept his head down. "Please Naruto, you need to come home." The other three were silent as Sakura tied to talk to her teammates, having orders to jump in only should things get violent. Sakura took a step closer to Naruto so that she was in front of him, her back to the cliff-side as she reached down and grabbed one of his hands and raised it up. "Naruto, whatever it is that's been bugging you, we can help. If it's the trip with Jiraiya-sama, I think you've made your point. Please, come back to Konoha with us." The blond was silent as Sakura tried to smile for him but was still worried at how he hadn't said a word since they showed up. Finally he did but it was so quiet only she could hear it.

"So close..."

"Huh?"

"I'm so close... So close to my goals... I'm not about to stop now!" Naruto shouted as he then shocked them all by doing the unthinkable.

He shoved Sakura over the cliff.

**Author's Notes:** And there you have it folks, Naruto's choice! Next chapter will be up soon and there should be only one more after that before I'm done with part one of the series.

So review, favorite, and wait till next time!


	29. 29

**You people have no faith! Seriously, oh my god, over ninety percent of all the reviews to last chapter were just people telling me how horrible it is that Naruto's leaving and how they're actually dropping my story because of it. Seriously? Actual canon has made far bigger jumps and people just shrug them off like it's nothing but I make Naruto leave Konoha and suddenly the world is ending! I mean what the fuck people? Have some faith in me, I know what I'm doing here. I've been planning this from the beginning and while I knew I was going to get some people mad this many is just ridiculous! So please, just go ahead and read this chapter and the next at least before deciding whether or not to drop it. I have a plan and I'm positive that most of you will like it, even the people that want to quit reading this now.**

**Anyways, no review responses this time. Everyone was either saying they were dropping this or just commenting on Naruto's decision and asking for the next chapter.**

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

**29 –** Running to Nowhere

"Good morning Tsunade." Sarutobi called out as he opened the door with a smile, only to drop it instantly into a scowl at see how she was issuing orders to a couple jonin with a scowl of her own. The jonin both nodded and left as the woman slumped in her seat and sighed in irritation and exhaustion. Only her second day on the job and already something major happened. "What's wrong Tsunade?" The former Hokage asked as he walked up and Tsunade gave a slight start, not having noticed his arrival as she was busy with the others.

"Sensei..." The busty woman shook her head and ran a hand down her face. "We've got a crisis going right now and you might want to sit down before I say a word about it." The man was extremely confused now and grabbed the chair against the wall to set down right in front of her desk and sat down. A raised brow was his sign for her to continue. "This morning I received word from Haruno Sakura that she was under the assumption her teammates Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke had been sent out on a mission last night. Before anything else happened a chunin came in telling me that Uzumaki had knocked out last nights chunin gate guards with the help of an Oto kunoichi we had imprisoned. Apparently Uzumaki has decided to go rogue sensei. Haruno then gave me the note the Uchiha left telling her about his 'mission' so we came to the assumption he's been tricked into this. I gave Haruno the mission to gather who she felt she'd need and then to head out to bring both Uzumaki and Uchiha back. I then sent the chunin to find out just how one of our prisoners escaped. That's what those jonin just here were reporting. Uzumaki snuck in and freed her, using knowledge a newly minted chunin shouldn't have access to." She explained before sighing. "Sensei, I don't know how the kid did it but it was as if he already knew exactly what to do. Which areas to avoid, which ones would be going on a shift change, even how to knock out the two guards he'd have to encounter to reach her cell. It was all perfectly executed and if this was simply a security drill I authorized I'd be proud of his execution but right now I'm more horrified at how easily he got through our patrols and that our jinchuriki has decided to make a run from the village."

Sarutobi was silent as he took everything in. This was something he was actually having trouble believing, that Naruto would turn traitor and trick his teammate into going with him. As he freed an Oto kunoichi, it was obvious just where he'd be going and that only made it even more unbelievable. Naruto heading to Orochimaru? Just what had given the boy the thought that it was a good idea to go to the snake? As Sarutobi struggled with the news Tsunade had given him the door was opened and another jonin entered.

"Tsunade-sama, we just got done with the prisoner check you ordered and have your answers." He started as both Kages turned to him. "The Oto kunoichi that Uzumaki freed was named Tayuya and was the one Jiraiya-sama incapacitated in bringing down the barrier to aid Sandaime-sama in the Invasion. We knew her to be one of Orochimaru's elites but had been unable to get anything of value out of her." Both nodded their understanding as he pulled out a file and flipped to the second page. "The other thing is that the prisoner Juugo was found with his neck snapped and a kunai wound to the heart. Just a reminder, Juugo was the burnt prisoner that Uzumaki fought in the Invasion and that you and Jiraiya-sama brought to us upon your return to the village. We had been having Yamanaka use their jutsu to extract information from his mind. While we had been making some progress, we had also been having trouble with his mental defenses. With him now dead we can no longer exploit him for anything on Orochimaru or his actions and allies. I'll have all the retrieved info compiled and sent to you after I return." The man then set the files down showing them to be Tayuya's and Juugo's prisoner files and stepped back. "No other prisoners were interacted with in anyway. That's all ma'am." He finished before bowing and leaving as Tsunade dismissed him.

"What are we going to do sensei? I've got a team after them and hopefully once the Uchiha finds out the truth he'll help in restraining Uzumaki but I'm not making any bets on the outcome of this. Haruno chose one other chunin and two genin. Add Uchiha to that and it's still not enough for a teen capable of bringing down a biju. There's also no other available jonin or teams that actually could stand up to Uzumaki should he decide to get serious." Tsunade was worried, and rightly so. He tenure as Hokage was not starting off very well and she was completely lost for options. It would take someone of S-rank to head out and bring Naruto back but Kakashi was out on a mission, Jiraiya was set to return later and they couldn't count on him stumbling across them on his way back. The only other S-ranks the village had were herself and the man across from her. She was too busy trying to run the village to head out and Sarutobi was too old for the job and they both knew it.

"I'm sorry Tsunade. But all we can do is hope at this point."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Everyone let out shocked yells as Sakura flew over the edge of the cliff. None of them had expected Naruto just shove her over the edge without a second thought. The girl herself was still stuck staring at him with wide eyes as she began to fall and soon she could no longer see those standing above on the safe ground, the rocky side of the cliff had taken the view away. She could hear Sasuke yelling for her as well as the others shouting at Naruto but none of that mattered anymore. Her mind was still stuck on one thought. One single thought that had come up the moment Naruto shoved her to possibly her death.

He hadn't hesitated in the slightest.

Naruto didn't seem to wait a moment and struggle with his decision. He hadn't given her any kind of signal that it was all a lie or a trick of some sort and that she'd be okay. He hadn't done anything at all except yell at her and then shoving her away to die.

It was worse than a physical blow to the girl. He really thought so little of their friendship that he'd be fine with killing her so simply? He really found no guilt in killing an ally, a teammate, for trying to help him? Sakura didn't know what to think and found herself struggling to hold back tears that Naruto's move had brought up.

The girl forced her mind to the present though as she knew she had to find a way out of this free-fall before the crash landing would kill her. Even if it was over water, hitting it hard enough like she would was still deadly. Thinking over her options the girl reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out two of the weapons along with some metal wire. She quickly wrapped wire through the rings of each kunai separately, working as fast as she could.

She wouldn't spare a glance at the oncoming ground below her, she could hear the river well enough to know she was running out of time.

With a final tug on the knots she tied the girl threw both of the kunai at the cliff wall, the wire she also wrapped around her forearms digging uncomfortably into the skin as the wire stretched out. The two metal blades struck stone and stuck into them causing the wire to pull tight as she reached the end of her spare length. Sakura was instantly swung down to the wall and closed her eyes as the stone rushed forward to meet her. With a slight twist so that she wouldn't hit face first, Sakura spun and crashed her right side into the hard surface, letting out a pained cry as she did. The pinkette shakily opened her eyes, the held back tears now freely flowing due to pain as she glanced up at her arms. Both were bleeding slightly from where the wire had cut into flesh as it was pulled far too tight in its saving of her life. Her right hand though, as well as the arm itself was entirely numb and seemed to sag lightly. Placing her feet against the wall and channeling chakra to the wall allowed her to stick to it and climb up slightly to give her arms some slack against the wires. As she had noticed, and feared, her right arm simply hung limply against her and with the little medical training she had begun the girl knew that not only had the shoulder been dislocated, the arm itself was broken. Possibly including a rib or two, she mentally added as she gently pressed her good arm against her side only to wince in pain and pull away. Untying her arms, the girl knew she couldn't fix her arm so instead she slipped the gauntlet off and slipped it onto her left arm. While she hadn't trained to fight with it on the opposite side, it was still better than having it hang uselessly on her right. The last thing she did was stick a kunai handle in her mouth and bit down hard as she held her right shoulder for a second before jamming it back into place, screaming through the metal as she did.

_'That's the best I'm gonna do here.'_ Sakura thought as she opened her mouth to let the kunai fall uselessly to the riverbank below. The girl was panting slightly from the pain as she looked up just in time to see a burst of fire going over the cliff. _'I've gotta get back up there and help. Who knows what's been happening since my fall.'_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted and was about to rush out to try and grab her when he felt a kunai to his throat and glanced out from the corners of his eyes to see Tayuya behind him, having turned back when she heard all the shouting behind her.

"And where the fuck do you think you're going, dipshit?"

"You aren't really an agent are you?" He asked as more of the truth was starting to come together in his mind.

"Not for Konoha. I'm Tayuya of the Sound Four. One of Orochimaru-sama's personal guards and best in Oto." She bragged as Sasuke grit his teeth in anger at being deceived. Putting his attention back on Naruto across the canyon showed him easily handling the three Sakura had brought with. "I don't give a shit about your problems with Orochimaru-sama but apparently he asked that blond fucker to bring you with after freeing me so you're coming to Oto. But don't worry, if you're nice maybe some fat-ass will take pity on you and make you his bitch. That's all a pretty boy like you is good for isn't it dipshit?" Tayuya taunted getting Sasuke even angrier.

"You're going to regret this."

"Oh yeah? How?" She mocked before Sasuke grinned and grabbed her arm, instantly channeling lightning chakra into the limb causing Tayuya to scream as she was electrified. Sasuke took the chance to slip out of her hold and kick her in the chest so that she flew back into a tree. The girl stumbled back to her feet and glared at Sasuke as he drew the Kubikiri off his back.

"Again with the fucking lightning! I thought I was in Hi no Kuni you damn Konoha fuckers! What's with all the fucking zapping shit going against me!" She raged before charging in to attack with her kunai. Sasuke easily deflected her opening stab with his sword before aiming a jab at her face making her twist to the side and snap a kick up at his wrist. Dropping the blade, Sasuke caught her leg and pushed her back off balance. As Tayuya stumbled back he kicked the handle of his sword back up and caught it before slashing at her, giving her a long but shallow cut across her stomach. Tayuya cried out in pain before rolling to the side to avoid his follow up slash and then jumping back to put distance between them. "You know what? Fuck this shit!" She cursed as she tossed the kunai at him, making him knock it aside with his blade, while she pulled out her silver flute. "Let's see you fight me now fucker."

"You're gonna play a song for me? Sorry, but I'm not a music fan." Sasuke quipped as she began playing her flute. Without waiting, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and charged the girl, even as she kept backpedaling while playing her music. Finally seeing it was having no effect as he got close and still swung straight at her she growled and leapt to the side. "You think my eyes wouldn't see the chakra being put into the noise? I know you were trying some kind of genjutsu on me, I fought someone that used sound based illusions before!" He shouted, remembering the dark haired Oto kunoichi from the second phase of the Chunin Exams.

"Fuck!" Tayuya cursed as she dodged another slash. Without her illusions, she would be forced to rely on her Doki summons. However those required more chakra than she had to bring out. Even if she tapped into the curse mark on her neck, she wouldn't have enough due to only running on a couple soldier pills and protein bars. Though she was hiding it well, she was exhausted and she knew it. _'I'm not gonna beat this fucker right now, not without any chakra. I _am _close enough to one of our outposts though. I could probably turn this bitch back on the blond and make a run for reinforcements. If that yellow headed fucker is as strong as Orochimaru-sama's info said then he can hold off these little shits long enough for me to get back.'_ Tayuya thought as she rolled away from another slash and pulled out the only other kunai in the weapon pouch Naruto had given her. Her plan set the girl tried to stab Sasuke as he spun around her and retaliated with a kick to her back that got her towards the edge of the cliff. The red-head glanced across the canyon and smirked when she saw Naruto dealing with the last of them without a scratch on him.

"Any last words?" Sasuke threatened as Tayuya snorted her amusement.

"Yeah, check out your blond buddy for a second." Sasuke narrowed his eyes before doing just that and gasping at seeing his friend knock down the last one. He could see that Naruto hadn't even pulled out the Kagirinai Buyou but had instead relied only on his taijutsu and fire manipulation. Tayuya took the chance to spin around and toss the kunai at Sasuke, making him jerk to the side to avoid it. However when he turned back to the girl he found her dashing past him. "Later fucker!" Sasuke growled but chose to focus on the bigger problem as he turned back to Naruto. Channeling chakra to his feet for the jump as he first did when he had jumped across to begin with the Uchiha ran to the edge and jumped over.

"Naruto!" He called to get the blond's attention on him. Blue eyes turned to him as his gauntlet covered left fist was engulfed in flames and he spun, swinging the attack at Sasuke.

"Hitsume (Fire Claw)!"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto only glanced at Sakura as she fell over the edge. He knew that wouldn't kill her unless she let the shock of his actions cause her to freeze up. When the others started yelling for her or at him the blond knew it was time to get started.

"You bastard!" Kiba shouted as he charged in first, Akamaru at his heels. Naruto twisted to the side to avoid the Inuzuka's wild slash and drove his knee into Kiba's gut, making him fold over his leg. Naruto quickly punched Kiba straight in the face and as he stumbled back he caught Akamaru when the dog leapt at him to bite him. The blond didn't waste a moment but instead threw Akamaru back at the woods, making the dog slam against a tree and fall to the ground. "AKAMARU!" Kiba screamed as the dog whimpered but did not move. Growling at Naruto the brown haired boy leapt at the blond, intent on ripping his head off.

"Predictable." Naruto muttered as he rolled under Kiba and swept his legs out from under him as he landed. Continuing his spin in the same manner as he did against Gaara, Naruto raised his foot back up before slamming it down onto Kiba's back. The genin's mouth opened to scream but no sound came out. Just as Naruto was about to attack again he had to leap aside as Neji spun in from behind and attempted to strike him in the back with his Jyuken.

"Stop this nonsense Naruto-san! Just surrender and come back to the village!" Neji shouted as he engaged Naruto in a fast past fight. Neji would attempt to strike at Naruto's chakra points only for the blond to deflect the blows. However when Naruto tried to strike him he was forced to instead twist his attack into a deflection as Neji tried to both block and strike a chakra point in the attacking arm in response. Both were moving faster than they had in their preliminary match and neither was giving in.

"Enough of this." Naruto muttered before his gauntlet erupted in flame and he swung at Neji. The Hyuuga teen only had enough warning to widen his eyes before the burst of flame struck him and sent him back. Without pausing Naruto spun and sent a Hitsume at Shikamaru. The Nara teen was forced to cancel the Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession Technique) he was about to attempt and dodge to the side as the fire raced towards the spot he had just been in. Naruto spared a glance at Kiba to see that he was still groaning on the ground, glaring at him as well, but unmoving so he leapt into action against the chunin. Shikamaru could barely put up a defense as Naruto was getting punches and kicks through his guard to strike him in the sides and finally he broke Shikamaru's guard entirely to land a palm strike on the Nara's chest, making him skid back before falling to his knees when he stopped. "You should work on your taijutsu Nara. Your clans shadow jutsu can't save you from everything." Naruto admonished as he took a few steps closer, Shikamaru coughing up blood on the ground between them.

"W-why are you doing this?" He asked through grit teeth as he noticed Neji getting up behind him. The chunin knew he needed to keep the blond's attention on him at that moment. "What's Orochimaru offering you? Help against Iwa? You know it won't work right? He had help from Suna and couldn't bring down Konoha. How's he going to help you against another of the great 5?" The Nara tried to reason as Naruto tilted his head to the side.

"You think I haven't considered this? I know perfectly well Orochimaru alone won't be able to help me against Iwa. He's only step one of my plan." Naruto admitted, getting Shikamaru's eyes to widen. Before either one could say anymore, Naruto's instincts warned him of an attack so he rolled instantly to his left as Neji came down with a double palm strike that cracked the ground where he had just stood. Before the Hyuuga could react Naruto grabbed him by the clothes around his neck and pulled him into a vicious headbutt that connected with Neji's nose to knock him unconscious. The blond tossed him to the side before turning back to Shikamaru. "Now it's your turn." Naruto muttered darkly and Shikamaru was only able to take solace in the fact that Naruto only seemed to want to knock them out, as he had ignored plenty of openings for fatal attacks and instead just focused on disabling them.

"Move Shika!" Kiba shouted as he tried to jump Naruto from behind. The Nara did as Naruto sighed and spun back towards the Inuzuka heir. Naruto lazily batted his slash attempt aside before grabbing him by the throat his his right, his left erupting into flame.

"You shouldn't have shouted. It gave away your position and alerted the enemy to your attack." The blond commented before punching Kiba in the gut with his flaming fist. Kiba coughed up blood and Naruto dropped him to his feet, only to spin into a roundhouse kick that knocked him out a second later. Looking back to Shikamaru had him noticing that he couldn't move anymore as the Nara was crouched with his hands held in the signature sign of his families clan jutsus.

"And you should realize a distraction when you see one." The Nara taunted back. Naruto's eyes glanced at their connected shadows on the ground before focusing again on the chunin across from him, his face a bored expression to show Shikamaru how much he truly cared about his jutsu catching him.

"Tell me, how long can you hold this? Considering how much I hurt you a few seconds ago plus how much chakra you actually have, I doubt you could hold me for long. In fact I bet I could break this in seconds if I actually flared my chakra and tried to." The blond mused as Shikamaru did his best to hide the sweat he could feel gathering at his brow, knowing Naruto was right. The Nara could hold his jutsu only for a minute or two longer and then he'd be helpless against the blond since he took out all of his teammates so rapidly. Shikamaru was wondering what was taking Sasuke so long but also knew he couldn't take the time out to look. "I'll make you this offer just once, take Kiba and Neji and go back to Konoha. You can't beat me and you know it."

"What about Sakura? You threw her over the cliff! And Sasuke! What're you going to do with him?!" Shikamaru shouted as Naruto kept his bored look up.

"Sakura is alive. That little shove wouldn't have killed her with how resourceful she can be in a pinch. She's probably trying to climb back up already. As for Sasuke, well I have plans for him. That's all you need to know." The Nara narrowed his eyes as Naruto again brought up his so-called plans he had. He had called Orochimaru step one and now admitted to needing Sasuke as well. Was delivering him to the snake step one? Or did Sasuke factor in to another part of the blond's plans entirely? "Choose. Now." Naruto ordered, breaking Shikamaru's thoughts. "Either I knock you out and you all hope nobody comes by to do whatever to you all, or you grab the two genin and leave."

"I can't back down here Naruto." The blond sighed at his response.

"So be it." With a quick flare of chakra to his gauntlet Naruto made a make-shift flash tag by quickly igniting the object to extreme levels before dropping them. The sudden flash of light blinding Shikamaru temporarily as well as breaking his shadow connection as it was too bright for the shadow to remain. Freed, Naruto quickly charged Shikamaru and buried a foot into his chest with a strong kick. The Nara crumpled forward as Naruto brought his fist down on the back of his neck, ensuring he was knocked out like the others.

"Naruto!"

The blond turned his head to the right to see Sasuke jumping over the canyon, raising the Kubikiri up as he was ready to attack the moment he landed. Naruto simply engulfed his left in fire before swinging the attack at his teammate. "Hitsume!" He shouted as the fire wave rushed out to hit the Uchiha. Sasuke channeled his own fire chakra into the Kubikiri and slashed down with his blade, the fire aligned sword parting the wave harmlessly to the side. Sasuke grit his teeth from the still felt heat as he also kept his Sharingan eyes trained on Naruto. The blond hopped back as Sasuke crashed down and slashed at him.

"Why Naruto? Why are you doing this?" Sasuke shouted as he rushed his teammate. Naruto ducked under another slash, this one aimed high, and brought his knee up towards Sasuke's gut. It was blocked by Sasuke's own knee though so Naruto also ignited his gauntlet and threw a punch towards Sasuke's head. The Uchiha twisted to the side and brought his sword back into play by swinging it at the blond's chest but Naruto hopped back to avoid it.

"Why?" Sasuke stopped as he heard his teammate speak, still keeping himself ready for any tricks he might pull. "I have a plan Sasuke. One that will achieve everything I want and if you'll simply come with me then I can add your goals in too." Naruto offered as he held out his right hand.

"Orochimaru is your plan?! How can you possibly trust him after everything he's done?" Sasuke shouted as Naruto simply sighed.

"There's more to my plan than Orochimaru, Sasuke. Honestly, I'm not stupid enough to trust that snake for much at all. He's merely step one."

"Well then what is this plan? And why couldn't' you tell me earlier? Why do we have to leave the village for it? Answer me that!" The Kubikiri was shaking in Sasuke's hands as they spoke to each other, desperate for answers to the situation Naruto had dragged them all into. Desperate to know that Naruto wasn't really about to turn traitor.

"I can't say just yet Sasuke. It's too soon and you never know who's listening."

"That's just an excuse!" Sasuke shouted having had enough of everything going on. "I'll just try to make you see reason. Try to make you go back!" The Uchiha roared as he rushed Naruto again. Naruto shook his head as he channeled chakra into the glove on his outstretched hand causing the Kagirinai Buyou to appear. Spinning it quickly Naruto lashed at Sasuke's head making him raise his blade in defense. Metal clashed against metal as Sasuke continued to run forward, his blade scrapping against the metal shaft of the weapon Naruto held. Gritting his teeth the blond twisted himself slightly to move the shaft of his double ended naginata horizontally in front of himself so that Sasuke's charge was stooped. The downside was that he was now in a direct contest of strength with him by holding back the Kubikiri that Sasuke was trying to bring down as hard as he could.

For all his skill, Naruto was actually not that strong physically. Most of his muscles had been trained and developed for speed. Sasuke on the other hand had needed to train his strength to the limit in order to use the legendary blade he had received from Naruto. While his speed wasn't improved much from his Academy days, his strength was much more than doubled. It was likely one of the few things Naruto would be willing to freely admit Sasuke had over him despite having more experience and training.

The Uchiha was physically stronger than him. End of story.

Seeing the Kubikiri inch closer as Naruto was forced down, the blond realized his mistake in directly clashing with Sasuke right away and growled at the stupid move. Flaring his chakra, especially that of the Kiba no Makai on his left hand, the Kagirinai Buyou lit up in flames that Naruto's wind chakra fed to and directed towards Sasuke. The raven haired teen cried out in mild pain as the fire shoved him back, only the fact that the second Naruto's chakra had flared to give him warning saving him from getting burns as he channeled his own fire chakra to prevent them. Naruto jumped back to gain some room before getting into his stance as Sasuke shook his head to focus himself and got into his own.

"Last chance Sasuke. Come with me. I'm going to need an ally I can trust and you're the only one that I know would be willing to go along with everything."

"Not at the cost of my loyalty Naruto. I don't want to kill Itachi by becoming just as bad as him. I don't want to leave Konoha." The two stared at each other for a moment longer before at some unseen signal, they charged.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Jiraiya-sama!" The man paused as he was walking back through the gates of the village to head towards Naruto's apartment and let him know to get ready to leave. Glancing back he saw that it was one of the village's ANBU operatives that had called out to him. Within only a couple seconds the ninja was in front of him. "Tsunade-sama needs you in her office immediately. Something urgent has come up regarding Uzumaki." The man instantly frowned before nodding as both vanished in a swirl of leaves, using the Shunshin (Body Flicker) to cross the distance quickly. While the ANBU then returned to their post, Jiraiya hopped up to the window of the Hokage's office and tapped on the glass, letting the room's occupants know he was outside.

"Finally! What took you so damn long Jiraiya?" Tsunade growled as she opened the window to let him in. Jiraiya took note of her attitude before seeing Sarutobi sitting to the side, seemingly in a depressed mood, as he was only staring at the floor without even acknowledging that Jiraiya had shown up.

"I was finishing things up with my nearby agents so that I could get some last minute info before leaving with Naruto. You know that Tsunade." Jiraiya explained as he took a spot in front of her desk and then crossed his arms. "So what's the situation with Naruto that's so urgent you'd have an ANBU grab me before I could get the kid?"

"Naruto's fled the village for Orochimaru and tricked his Uchiha teammate into going with him!"

Whatever he was expecting, nothing in his wildest dreams would've ever come close to that. The Sannin looked at his fellow Sannin as if he misheard or that she was crazy before actually jabbing a pinky in his ear to clean it out before pulling it out and taking a deep breath. "Okay now, could you run that by me again? I think I-"

"Naruto's run to Orochimaru and dragged the Uchiha with him!" Tsunade interrupted, not in the mood for her teammates antics'.

"Impossible! Naruto hates traitors with a passion, he'd never go rogue!" Jiraiya countered before turning to their sensei sitting to the side. "Come on sensei, tell me this is her idea for a bad joke. You know as well as I do that Naruto-"

"-Has really fled the village Jiraiya." Sarutobi cut in this time as he raised his head. Jiraiya looked shocked and unbelieving before he looked hard into Hiruzen's eyes and saw it. The deep sorrow of losing someone close. The same look he'd only scene in Sarutobi's eyes twice before this; right after the Kyuubi attack and right after Orochimaru's defection.

"Tell me everything."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Sasuke cried out in pain as his back collided with a tree. Off to the side near the cliff was the Kubikiri, pinned down from where Naruto had managed to slip his Kagirinai Buyou into the hole in the blade and use that as leverage to wrench it out of his grasp. From there it had turned into a fist fight and despite Sasuke's greater strength, Naruto's speed overwhelmed him. The blond himself still looked ready to keep fighting as he only had a couple minor cuts on his clothes as well as a single bruise on his chin from the one good kick Sasuke had managed to land. "Just give it up Sasuke. You can't win against me." Naruto sighed out as he walked forward.

"I... I won't..." Sasuke panted out making the blond shake his head. Naruto took two more steps before stopping, his eyes glancing around as though looking for something. With a startled expression he rolled back just as the ground where he just was split slightly as if a blade had cut it. There was a light gasp of breath that seemed to come from nowhere before Naruto scowled and kicked at the noise. With a cry of pain Sakura shimmered into view clutching at her broken right arm, the same arm that Naruto had apparently hit. "S-Sakura..."

"I knew you'd survive but to be honest I was expecting that to keep you out of the fight entirely." Naruto commented as he walked up to the girl that was curled on her left side clutching her right. "Forcing yourself to continue despite such an injury, impressive Sakura. Very impressive." He praised before grabbing her by her good shoulder and picking her up, pinning her left arm behind her back and wrapping his other arm around her neck while her right dangled uselessly at her side. "But in the end, too late. Had you managed to show up before Sasuke was beaten then you might've caught me with that and taken me down."

"Let her go!" Sasuke shouted before bracing his back against the tree and struggling to his feet.

"Oh calm down Sasuke. Honestly, both of you should think for a moment. If I was really serious about turning traitor to Konoha then they'd be dead and you'd be gift wrapped for Orochimaru by now." The blond threw out casually as both Sakura's and Sasuke's eyes went wide at the implication, and then wider when they realized he was right. Had Naruto truly wanted this he'd have used his higher level jutsu or the Kyuubi to completely dominate them. After all it wasn't like three chunin and two genin could handle someone capable of bringing down a biju on their own.

"What... what are you really after?" Sakura asked as she tried to ignore the pain in her side. Naruto was holding her up but he wasn't choking her or twisting her arm painfully on her, just keeping a tight enough grip so that she couldn't do anything and so that she wouldn't fall from the pain her right side was causing her. Eying Sasuke and then the rest of the team she brought showed her much of the same; various cuts and bruises but none of them life-threatening or dangerous. A concussion at worst for any of them, save her of course.

"What I'm after is the achievement of a few goals of mine, no more and no less. I had hoped nobody would notice we were gone until later when Jiraiya would've gone to pick me up for that pointless trip but things didn't work out that way. I had hoped Sasuke would be jumping at the chance to avenge his clan and kill Itachi but apparently he won't do it at the cost of leaving Konoha, which is a key to my plans. In the end, it seems like I've only accomplished leaving the village for myself to get started but nothing else." The blond mused as he kept and eye on both her and Sasuke, his teammates both grimacing in pain from their collected injuries but also paying attention and trying to figure out the plans he had continually mentioned. "Sasuke, this is the last time I'll ask you; leave the village and join me. Please." The teen called out as Sakura shifted her attention to Sasuke and saw him looking down with his eyes closed.

"Answer one question for me first." He replied so Naruto shrugged.

"Alright, shoot."

"Why do we have to leave the village to accomplish these plans of yours?" He asked as Naruto scowled and grit his teeth.

"Because Konoha is holding us back! Revenge isn't their way with the 'Will of Fire' they all preach! Despite how many things others have done to the world, Konoha just lets it go until it grows to a global level and a war breaks out! Konoha is a village of defenders, not punishers or avengers or whatever you want to refer to us as. I want to destroy Iwa, they'll never support that! You want to kill your brother, they won't give you the chance if they can help it!" He shouted out as his reasons for why came to him, both his own thoughts mixing with the words Kabuto had told him a few nights ago. "If we stay there then we'll never get our vengeance on the ones that have wronged us and they'll be free to do it again and again to others. I can't allow that! _We_ can't allow that! So leave Konoha behind and come with me!" Sakura winced slightly at both the fact that he was essentially screaming in her ear as well as how strongly Naruto felt about this. It was as if her truly believed the village was trying to stop him.

Sasuke was silent as he thought it all over in his head. Both Sakura and Naruto were hoping for a favorable response, though their thoughts on that were complete opposites. Finally Sasuke raised his head and faced Naruto.

"I'm sorry Naruto but no." He answered, getting Naruto to frown as Sakura smiled as best she could. "Maybe you're right, maybe not. But one thing I know for sure is that you're wrong. Konoha is not holding us back. Konoha is just showing us that there's more to live for than revenge, that we don't have to dedicate ourselves to a goal of nothing but hate." Naruto was gritting his teeth at this point as Sasuke shook his head. "And you know what Naruto? You're the one that showed this to me in the first place!" The blonds' eyes went wide at the declaration as Sasuke explained. "Ever since my family was killed I've been nothing but a revenge obsessed person but then I was placed on a team with you and Sakura. Sure, I found you infuriating and Sakura annoying at first but you began to show me to not let my hate rule me, that there was the life right in front of me to live instead of the one in the past I angered over. Over time I came to view both you and Sakura as friends. The village only added to all of this. How could I turn my back on Konoha and all the friends I've made for something in the past? People don't live in the past Naruto. We live in the present, and I'm not about to change that."

"You'll give up on Itachi if you stay in Konoha!" Naruto shouted trying to get Sasuke to leave like him, not liking how Sasuke was turning his own attitude on anything beside Iwa right back at him. He was pretty much exactly how Sasuke pointed out, until the topic turned to Iwa and he would lose himself to his hatred and ignore everything else, even his own logic.

"Maybe, but I choose to stay and find that out myself." The Uchiha fired back as Naruto shook his head. "Now let Sakura go Naruto. And come back to Konoha with us."

"I can't! You don't even get it do you? I can't go back anymore!" Naruto shouted, shocking his teammates. "By doing this I've marked myself as a missing ninja. At best, going back would net me with a few years in jail. At worst, death! I can't go back to Konoha, don't you understand that?!" The blond shouted.

"Naruto..." Sakura muttered, still being held by Naruto. Thinking on it they realized that he was right. The best he could hope for would still be crippling to his career and his dreams. Sakura let out a gasp as Naruto shoved her forward into Sasuke, the Uchiha making sure to catch her before she fell. She then turned around as Sasuke got ready to rush in only for Naruto to throw a smoke bomb onto the ground to obscure there vision. Both began to cough lightly as the smoke dispersed. Once it was gone they saw the Naruto had vanished, along with the Kagirinai Buyou. The Kubikiri was still lying on the ground and none of the others had been moved from wherever they had fallen either. It seemed he had just taken his weapon and fled. "Naruto..."

"He's gone..." Sasuke muttered before sighing and turning to the girl he was still holding. "Are you alright Sakura?"

"My right side hurts like hell and the arm is completely useless but otherwise I'll be fine. I'm sure Tsunade-sama can heal me once we're back in Konoha." She answered before looking to Neji, Kiba and Shikamaru. "What about them though? How are we going to get them back?" Sasuke looked at the three before shrugging.

"We try to wake them up?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

****Author's Note: ****And that's that. Next chapter will be the last one of the first half of the story before I jump ahead to Shippuden years. I hope you all enjoyed it and that the non-believers have come to forgive me for making Naruto abandon the village. Still, I gave certain clues throughout the story that hinted he'd be leaving eventually, for where was up to debate but he was always going to leave.

Anyways, in other news I watched the season finale to Kill la Kill Thursday and man it was great. Anybody who hasn't seen that series **MUST** watch it! And that ending! Oh man, I got worried about Gamagoori for a moment before that turned out okay but then Senketsu! Oh Senketsu! That's likely the only time people have ever cried over an article of clothing.

So lastly, like always, please review and favorite! See you next chapter!


	30. 30

**KnightOfZaku: **Actually I don't plan on Naruto being entirely too dark. Only when it concerns his hate of Iwa will he ever actually be dark. The rest of the time he'll just stick to himself and seem like he's lost in thought about the plans I kept having him mention. As for wanting him to beat up Anko again, it's likely not going to happen. He hates her and stays away from her and knowing his feelings on the matter she stays away from him. I'll also admit there won't be any kind of situation in the future where they encounter one another so it's not going to happen really. In fact, Anko has only one more actual role in my story that won't come up until later in the Shippuden years.

****FoxFan: ****Naruto will not be meeting Karin at all. The reasons why are explained in this chapter as it'll be really obvious. Plus on a side note I'm really hating her character. At first I just didn't care about her too much since she was just a fangirl with a slight purpose but the recent chapters have just pissed me off to the extreme. She complains that she's not a fighter, that she can't do anything to help Sasuke in his fights but then out of nowhere she pulls out the chakra chains? And judging from how she wasn't shocked at all and that Orochimaru even commented calmly how it was the same power as Kushina means they both knew she could do that. She had that kind of ability and she complains she's weak and can't help and then never uses it before this despite having multiple opportunities to show it off and be helpful?! Against Bee she could've used the chains to hold him down. Against Danzo she could've used them to escape his hostage attempt. And yet, she never did anything with them! While before I just didn't care about her, now I hate her with a passion to the point I've even been considering removing her from a couple roles she would've had in my other stories. It doesn't help that she's the poster child for abusive relationships. As for Hinata, Kakashi and Jiraiya; they're all shown in the chapter as well.

****Author's Note:**** Most of the rest of the reviews were either saying not to listen to the doubters, which I wasn't planning on doing, or reassuring me that they'd stay with the story, thanks for those. The only other things that were said were either idle speculation about the future of the story or comparisons of my Naruto with canon Sasuke and Obito. To me, that's kind of a good thing considering that's what I was going for. But for most of my readers that seems bad. Also my reviewers seem split as around half comment that Naruto leaving is completely understandable and logical while the other half says it makes no sense and is too large of a leap from just an Iwa hating but loyal genin to this now going rogue Naruto. But still, it was planned from the beginning and I'm not about to change it.

The last thing I'd like to talk about is my inspiration for writing this. One of the reviews actually asked me that and instead of just answering him alone I figured I would share with everyone because it's crucial to how I developed this.

Originally I was actually trying to think up a KumoNaruto story but it wasn't going to well. No matter how I adapted the story idea and plot it either came off as cliché or forced. This was actually before I started typing but when I was just thinking of ideas in my head and occasionally writing them down in a notebook. Then the Naruto/Sasuke clash after the Danzo fight happened and there was that one panel with Naruto holding a Chidori and Sasuke holding the Rasengan while Naruto says "Our roles could have been reversed." Next thing I knew I had ideas up the ass about a story where Naruto was the one who fled the village while Sasuke stayed loyal. I took the best of them and spent a long time refining them the best I could until I got a plot that both made sense and was interesting, to me and the one friend I ran it past at least. So I went from there and soon had chapter one all ready and posted. I went from there a little and then out came Obito's full back story. I actually noticed how similar it was to my own idea with only a couple tweaks and rather than try to distance it from that distinction I actually liked it so I instead tweaked it the other way so that it was even closer a comparison. See, when Obito's story was first revealed I loved it. He was a guy just like Naruto who was full of dreams to be the Hokage and was always wanting to help and have fun. When he 'died', he died happy knowing his best friend would protect the girl he loved and that in the end they managed to save her and work together flawlessly. Then it turns out he survived but that just meant he could return to them and keep his 'good times' longer. He constantly was trying to recover as fast as he could just to go back home when he finds out his friends are in danger so he rushes out to help, only to see the worst thing he could possibly imagine happen; his best friend killing the girl he loved, the one that friend himself swore to protect. Obviously he lost it and lost all hope entirely, coming to believe the world is hell and nothing but lies and pain. Then there's Madara with a smile and a glue stick to put him back together in his own image and boom, you have our main villain. It was all done in a very believable and enjoyable manner. Now I'll admit, I don't like how Naruto returned him to a good guy as I would've preferred if he stayed true to his beliefs and died a villain but that's not the point here.

The point is that I wanted to further that parallel of Naruto and Obito because that's what I was going for; a Naruto that like canon is full of hopes and dreams but then has those violently crushed and ripped from him. I wanted a Naruto where after losing everything, the only reason he kept going is because he wanted revenge. He'd stay with Konoha because he knew nothing else but his hope and trust in his home would've been torn down by learning all the truths that were kept from him. He'd train to be stronger all in the hope of eventually getting revenge but that over the course of the story he'd come to see other things that would both drive him further into it but also try to pull him away from it. I wanted Naruto to be like Sasuke as a revenge driven person and be like Obito as someone that's lost there hope in the world and only wants to bring it down, even if he's only focusing on one part of it. Naruto would know that in the grand scheme of things it was wrong but he wouldn't care because it was the only thought that gave him comfort as it was the only thing that kept him sane. Obito had Madara to hold onto with the Moon's Eye Plan but Naruto had to make a plan of his own so he latched onto the most obvious one like many would and began to want revenge on the people that hurt him. I took the ideas from there to make this and I'm honestly very happy with how it's all turned out, even if some aren't happy with Naruto going rogue or other things.

Anyways, I've rambled on long enough, thanks for sticking with it this long. Here's the final chapter of part one for you. Enjoy!

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

**30 – **To the Future

"Welcome back Tayuya. We've missed you." Orochimaru commented as the girl knelt down in front of him at the base. "Now if you'd be so kind as to explain how you got here? Without Naruto I may add?" The snake Sannin asked as it was true, the blond jinchuriki was nowhere in sight. Orochimaru had expected that if Tayuya was here then Naruto was as well yet the messenger that brought her to him when she arrived also told him she arrived alone. He knew Naruto had to break her out as she wouldn't be here otherwise.

So where was he?

"The blond broke into the ANBU jail I was being held at and freed me in the middle of the night." Tayuya started, holding back on her usual cursing as he disliked it when she was actually reporting to him. "He told me that you had an agent contact him and give him instructions on how to free me and also told him to kill Juugo and get the Uchiha kid. After getting me out he tricked the Uchiha into coming along by claiming it was a late mission they had been chosen for, with me playing the client as a deep cover agent in your forces getting help to bring you down from within Orochimaru-sama." At this the man chuckled thinking it a good irony that Naruto would make Sasuke serve him willingly by tricking him into expecting an eventual attack order against him. Tayuya even spared a moment to smirk as well as she found it hilarious. However she dropped it as she went back into her explanation. "We were making good time, had just hit the Valley at the border when some Konoha brats caught up. The blond took care of them while I fought the Uchiha. However because of my time in prison and only mild chakra reserves from a couple soldier pills, he was able to overpower me. I tricked him into combat against the blond and ran to our border outpost for reinforcements but when we got back they were all gone. There were signs of further fighting after my escape but nobody was there, alive or dead. I don't know what happened Orochimaru-sama but decided returning to your side was the best option so I headed back, leaving a couple agents to search for clues about what went on and where they might've gone if they hadn't returned to Konoha." She finished as Orochimaru contemplated her words.

Obviously something major happened after she left but what? Had Naruto decided to return to Konoha after all? Had, by some miracle even he couldn't conceive, Sasuke and the team managed to overpower Naruto and force him back? Or was it a third option he had yet to think of? Clearly he was going to have to wait until either those agents came back or others came up with news of the tale. It was a good thing he could be patient then. A man with dreams of immortality required that virtue as achieving that goal alone was going to take time, let alone everything that could be done after obtaining it.

"I see..." He started, getting the girl to raise her head and face him. "Well I can't hold you accountable here Tayuya as you did exactly what I would've wanted in that situation. However I do find your performance against Sasuke-kun very disappointing. Despite the handicap, you should have been quite capable of bringing him down without assistance. It seems you'll need more _training_." Tayuya shivered at how he emphasized the last word, already knowing her future was going to be painful. "For now, get yourself some rest and nourishment. Your new training schedule to bring you back into shape will begin tomorrow." The red headed teen nodded, inwardly cursing her luck, as she then got up to leave. Once she was gone the man tapped a hand on his chin in thought. "Kabuto, tell me your thoughts. You know Naruto-kun better than I."

"I'm not sure myself honestly." The silver haired teen admitted, coming out of the shadows behind Orochimaru to stand in front of him. He adjusted the glasses on his face for a second before continuing. "On one hand, by leaving the village he's branded himself a rogue and knows he can't go back so I don't see him returning willingly. I also find it impossible for any team of, to quote Tayuya, 'brats' managing to bring him down either. It would take jonin level skill and Konoha currently can't afford to expend those kind of resources. But that leaves the question of what happened and all I can think of is three options." The Sannin quirked a brow as Kabuto held up a finger. "One is that Naruto beat them and took them all somewhere, where is up in the air at this point as I don't know anyplace outside the village he'd feel he could do such a thing." A second finger went up. "Two is that an outside person or group interfered and took one or all of them to wherever they are. The only people I can think of to be bold enough to try such a thing would be Akatsuki but in that case they would have only taken Naruto and left the dead or unconscious bodies of the rest there." A third finger. "The last option I can see is someone from Konoha came along between Tayuya's leaving and her return to take them all back to the village. Perhaps a back-up team of genin sent after the original considering the village's resources right now."

"I see. I find the second highly unlikely as I know Akatsuki as well as you and know they wouldn't make a move on Naruto-kun so quickly after a failed attempt. The first holds little merit as well since there are few places in the area he'd be capable of using to hide a team and himself without any trace being left behind. Which leaves the third option, which is also the most likely knowing Tsunade and sensei." Orochimaru mused before shaking his head. "Alas, it seems though that we'll simply have to wait for our spies in Konoha to report on the true outcome before knowing. A shame Sasuke-kun wasn't brought here by Naruto-kun but at the very least Tayuya was returned and Juugo slain. I'd have hated for Konoha to have gotten any valuable information about my works from either of them." Orochimaru sighed out as Kabuto only nodded in agreement. "There will be other times to gather one or both of them under my thumb but for now I believe it would be best to move on with my other goals."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Inuzuka Daichi, you are one of Konoha's top trackers not in ANBU as well as a personal confident of Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade began, Jiraiya and Kakashi standing off to the side with the man in question stood in front of her desk. It had been a day since Naruto's vanishing and things had been very hectic in the village, though the full reasons why were known only to a few. Sasuke and Sakura had managed to wake Shikamaru and Neji and gotten them to help carry Kiba and Akamaru before heading off, managing to run into Jiraiya on the way back. Once the man saw them he turned from the idea of chasing Naruto to instead bringing them back to the village, knowing that they were vulnerable to just about any enemy force that Orochimaru could send out at that moment. It had pained him to essentially leave his godson to whatever he was doing but he felt he didn't have any real choice at the time.

"I'd say we're closer than confidant's Hokage-sama. I and my wife view the boy as a second son and he knows it. We have ever since our late son Koji, his old teammate, brought him and their other teammate Sakuya over to meet us. I'm guessing whatever mission you've called me for involves him and whatever mess the village is in?" Daichi asked as he had his arms crossed over his chest. His ninken Hime sitting next to him with her focus on the busty blond as well.

"That's correct. Uzumaki Naruto has gone rogue and joined Orochimaru. Knowing your connection to him as well as your tracking skills, I want you to lead a small ANBU team to him to subdue him and bring him back to Konoha." The woman explained as Daichi's eyes narrowed and he glanced down at Hime.

"I see... Permission to speak freely ma'am?" He asked, confusing the woman and the other two in the room slightly.

"Granted."

"Fuck you."

"Excuse me?!" Tsunade shouted as Daichi turned his gaze to Jiraiya and Kakashi for a moment before bringing it back to her. "Now listen here Inuzuka-"

"I wasn't finished, and you did allow me to speak freely." He interrupted getting her to growl. "If you wanna rant at me about my language then at least let me finish before I tune this shit out." He paused for a moment to see if she would be quiet, Jiraiya quietly in awe at the man's audacity to speak to his Hokage in such a manner without fear while Kakashi sighed, having expected something along these lines.

"Then talk, and see if you aren't strung up outside my window in five minutes." Daichi only scoffed at the threat that he knew she could make good on as he truly felt what he was about to say was right.

"You want me to find Naruto and bring him back to the village when you think he's gone to Orochimaru? That's fucking retarded. Naruto would have nothing to do with that bastard in a million years. Leaving the village is one thing. I can honestly see that, all things considered, but for Orochimaru? Bullshit. Whatever is pointing you down that road is a false trail he's set for whatever reason. I know because it's just the kind of shit the brat would pull since subtly is not his best area and he damn well knows it. It's why he's so damn good, he knows what he can do and plays off it. Whatever Naruto did after leaving the village; tricking you all into thinking he's headed for the snake is just a ploy to hide his tracks."

"If that's what you were going to say then why didn't you just say so?" Tsunade growled, understanding what he was saying but still wanting to know why he insulted her.

"Because I'm not about to go after him, that's why."

"WHAT?!" She shouted again as he blatantly refused to obey the order.

"I may not know where he's going or what he's planning but I know the endgame behind it. Even Kakashi over there could have told you that." Daichi admitted while pointing to the silver haired man. "His end goal will be to blow Iwa off the map and I for one support that. You send me out after the kid and I can guarantee I'll find him. But I'll also promise you that I'll join him in a heartbeat before bringing him anywhere near Konoha. He left for a reason and I ain't about to drag him back when I know it involves his vendetta against the bastards that took my boy. So you want me to find him? Well with all due respect Hokage-sama, fuck you." Daichi finished, speaking in the same even tone he had started with, though his face was a hard scowl and Hime was nodding in agreement next to him. Tsunade was openly snarling at the disrespect he was giving her while Kakashi had his head down and Jiraiya was openly gaping at the man.

"His actions may start a _FOURTH_ Shinobi War! You're actually supporting that?!" Jiraiya half asked, half shouted at the man while Daichi only nodded.

"Those bastards took my son and a girl I came to care for while leaving Naruto in such a fucked up state I haven't seen him smile around me or my wife ever since. I am not about give them any mercy and I hope when the time comes Naruto somehow contacts me and lets me in on it because I can promise you if he does I'll go rogue just as fast to get my pound of flesh for Koji and Sakuya and on everyone else that has fucked me and mine over." Daichi growled out getting Jiraiya to shake his head, knowing Daichi had to be part of the reason Naruto had been refusing to give up on his hatred. Kakashi was staying silent as he knew that the man was always like this whenever the topic turned to Naruto or his late students. Thanks to Koji frequently bringing the two orphans over as well as the few times Kakashi asked him to come by and help with training, Daichi had formed a very strong bond with the team and viewed Naruto and Sakuya as his own kids just as much as Koji was. Losing two of them and seeing what had become of the third actually drove the man into an angered depression for a couple months where all he did was drink or take the most violent missions he could to work out his stress. Daichi eventually came around but he's never forgiven Iwa and has hated them just as much as Naruto, freely offering the blond help in crushing the village whenever it was mentioned and only further enforcing Naruto's belief that Iwa's destruction was the right move.

"Get out of my office." Tsunade growled, making Daichi scoff once more but he turned and left without a word along with Hime. The woman grabbed a spare sheet of paper and crumpled it in her hand, mainly because it was likely the only thing she could do without getting violent to vent the stress Daichi had just forced on her. "Fucking prick."

"I did warn you that he wouldn't track him down Tsunade-sama." Kakashi pointed out, as once he had learned she called him in the man had told her it was a bad idea.

"Shut up Kakashi."

"I can't believe he'd really push Naruto into this like that. He's old enough to have fought in a war and yet he's willing to start another one at the drop of a hat?" Jiraiya sighed out as he ran a hand down his face.

"The Inuzuka have always been a very family oriented clan Jiraiya-sama. What hurts one, hurts them all. When one is angered, the entire clan rallies behind them. It's honestly only been through Tsume's guidance and Sarutobi-sama's will that they haven't stricken back at everyone else for everything that's happened over the years. Iwa, Kumo, Kiri, Suna, pretty much anytime one of their members or close friends have been killed they anger against the ones responsible and desire their retribution. That's why their clan head has to be very good at keeping them in line through force when needed and absolutely loyal to the Hokage's orders. It's likely half the clan would've been out getting whatever vengeance they felt they needed by now had they not." Kakashi explained, the other two nodding their understanding. The Inuzuka clan was more primal than other people due to their connection to their ninken and the jutsus the family employed bringing out their animal instincts. They were a firm believer in the phrases 'an eye for an eye' and 'might makes right' which is why the clan head had to both be the strongest they had as well as the most level headed, to make sure the rest of them didn't fly off the handle whenever tragedy struck. Before the villages were formed the Inuzuka were known to roam from area to area and take missions from people as needed but when one was harmed the entire clan retaliated. Joining Konoha had calmed them down considerably but had not removed their old attitudes either.

"Well now what?" Tsunade growled while Jiraiya sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, despite his attitude about another possible war and his disrespect to you, we did get a couple useful bits of info from him."

"What?"

"That Naruto isn't going to Orochimaru." Jiraiya explained with Kakashi nodding his head. "Kakashi said the same thing when we told him and now another person close to Naruto has said the same thing. The boy isn't going to Orochimaru and that's likely a false trail to throw people off." The jonin nodded his agreement as Tsunade spun her chair around to overlook the village.

"Then where's he going? And why try to take the Uchiha with?"

"Both Sasuke and Sakura reported that in their fight Naruto mentioned a plan of some sort and that Orochimaru was step one. Obviously if we're right that he's not going to the man then step one was to trick us into thinking he was to send us in the wrong direction." Kakashi began to reason.

"He also said he wanted someone he knew would watch his back to come with and that he could help Sasuke with his own goal of killing Itachi if he came along, which is why he first tried to trick him into coming with before flat out demanding it and putting up a bit of effort to force it. But when Sasuke fought back all the more, he decided to drop it and leave." Jiraiya continued. "But as for where he or his plans go from there is up for debate. The only thing we know is the last part; destroy Iwa."

"Should we send a message to warn them about Naruto?" Kakashi asked and Tsunade spun back around and shared a look with Jiraiya before shaking her head.

"No. While we don't want him to attack the village, revealing he's gone rogue to the rest of the Nations may provoke one of them into action. With how thin we're stretched due to the Invasion, it's best to keep up the illusion that he's here and loyal to keep them back a little longer. Eventually word will get out but I want Konoha back on it's feet at one hundred percent before it does." The Hokage reasoned making both men nod. "Now the last thing is what to do with any request involving Uzumaki. Ever since his heritage came out and the ruckus from the Invasion calmed down, Konoha has actually gotten a fair few asking for him for one specific reason or another. Some are marriage contracts from nobles for their daughters and the like that I would've just funneled to him since he could handle those himself. But some are actual mission requests."

"Just claim he's busy with another mission Tsunade-sama. If we want to keep up the illusion he's still here then that's all we can do. If they really want him so badly that they'll wait then you add on that other more important missions keep popping up requiring his attention first." Kakashi offered as Jiraiya sighed.

"Yeah, that'll work for a few but some of these can't be called off that easily Kakashi. Some are from very high ranking people that want Naruto for something important. We can't risk offending these people by claiming something else is more important than them but we also can't tell them Naruto is missing either. Hell, one of the requests is from the Daimyo wanting Naruto to join the Twelve Guardian Ninja for his personal guard!" The man told him as Kakashi was greatly shocked by this and Tsunade only nodded to confirm it. "His fight in the Exams and actions in the Invasion impressed a hell of a lot of people and just about everyone wants him."

"They won't believe an injured excuse due to my own reputation as a medic and like Jiraiya said, we can't risk offending a few of these requests by placing value on anothers' over theirs. Sensei said he'd try to figure out something but we're going to need an answer soon as the deadline to a few of these is coming up." Tsunade explained getting Kakashi to sigh before shrugging his shoulders, happy he wasn't involved in the politics of running the village. The woman's eyebrow twitched at his disregard but before anything could happen an ANBU agent appeared in the room at a crouch before the Kage.

"We've finished searching Uzumaki's apartment for any evidence Hokage-sama. There was nothing but a strange seal located on the underside of his mattress and knowing his proficiency at the art we felt it best to save that for Jiraiya-sama to handle." He reported getting Kakashi to scoff.

"Good, because I know that seal and it would've blown up anybody besides Naruto, me or Jiraiya-sama." He commented before looking up to Tsunade. "That seal is where he hid his most valuable possessions Hokage-sama. He didn't trust a bank or anyone else with anything of his, even money. Once he learned of his heritage he had Sarutobi-sama empty his family accounts and then with some help from me made a basic seal where nobody would look to store things. As his skill in sealing grew he tweaked it and added more features until it became what it is now; a sealing matrix attached to a chakra sensor and explosive tag chained to seals hidden in his own walls. If anyone the seal doesn't recognize tries to open that seal to get what's inside it chains to the seals in the walls to reinforce and lock the room down before exploding to kill everyone inside it without everyone out not even knowing it's happened." Tsunade raised a brow at him before looking to Jiraiya, only for him to shrug in response.

"The kid got paranoid about his valuables being broken or taken. Knowing his background, I can't really blame him." Tsunade nodded and stood up as Jiraiya only turned to the door. "Let me guess, you're coming with as we open it up to see if he left anything?" Her pointed stare was all the answer he needed.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"It's weird seeing this place so empty." Jiraiya commented as they walked through the living room of Naruto's apartment. What was once filled with pictures of him with his old team or a couple of his new along with the Ichiraku's and Sarutobi, was now bare. No pictures lined the walls and there was nothing on the shelves either. His pantry and fridge were still stocked with what he had left in there but otherwise there was nothing to suggest that anybody had lived there before. As they walked into his room they saw that even it was stripped bare. The dresser was empty and the bed was neatly made, even though nobody was apparently coming to use it again. With a sigh Jiraiya flipped the mattress up revealing a black circle of lines in a rough parody of the Uzumaki spiral in the center of it.

"That's it?" Tsunade asked as Kakashi walked up and pricked his thumb with a kunai before swiping it over the seal.

"It'd be neater had he not just been adding onto an old seal instead of flat out making a new one." Jiraiya defended as this seal had been one of Naruto's masterpieces and despite him going rogue, the man felt the need to defend his creation simply from the respect of one seal master to an aspiring one. Kakashi made a couple hand signs before placing his hand back on the seal and there was a puff of smoke as it's contents were emptied.

A single scroll.

Grabbing the scroll, Kakashi opened it and began to read out loud the message it contained.

"_To Kakashi or Jiraiya; As the only ones capable of unlocking this I know it has to be one of you two. By now I'm likely long gone from the village and the Hokage is trying to catch me. Well don't. You won't find me as I learned how to avoid detection from the best, and the best is just as likely to join me as he is to leave you. I am sorry for leaving the village but I feel it's the right thing to do. Konoha will never allow me to achieve my goals so I'm going to get them without the village's aid. I can promise you that I'll never harm the village or spill it's secrets, so don't worry about them._

_It's time for this fox to rise higher than the sky. Signed, Naruto._"

"Well, he nailed Daichi's reaction." Jiraiya rolled his eyes as Kakashi handed it to Tsunade to read. "And he's promised to not reveal our secrets or harm the village so we have nothing to fear on that front." The jonin added with a slight eye smile.

"What's this last part mean? _'Rise higher than the sky.'_ Either of you get that?" Tsunade asked as she finished and handed the note to Jiraiya to check over. Kakashi shrugged as it made no sense to him and after giving Jiraiya a minute he shook his head as he rolled the scroll back up.

"I've got nothing. Naruto's never made any mention about the sky in any way or wanting to go above it. Or beyond it or any other metaphor you can think of. He seemed to have his mind firmly rooted to the ground."

"So we have absolutely no clue where he's going or what he's planning beyond 'kill Iwa'?" She summarized as they both nodded. "Great..."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"I still can't believe he's gone." Sakura muttered as she was at a restaurant with Sasuke, both covered in bandages from their fight with Naruto. Sakura also had a cast on over her right arm and had it held in a sling. "I mean, he was going to be leaving with Jiraiya-sama anyways but this is..." She trailed off as the Uchiha nodded. He understood what she was going for. Having him leave on a sanctioned trip and knowing he'd return was one thing; for him to go rogue and flat out admit he'd never be coming back was another entirely.

"Yeah. But the thing I want to know is what is he going to do now?" Sasuke asked before shaking his head. "He's obviously going to eventually target Iwa but right now he knows as well as we do that he's nowhere near strong enough. So where' he gonna go and what'll he do until he is?" The dark haired teen questioned as Sakura shrugged as best she could with only her left arm. "Yeah, that's what I'm getting too. I mean, even if Orochimaru actually does help him, he'll still end up waiting a couple years or so right? We've gotta find a way to get him back before that happens."

"I thought you supported his desire for vengeance Sasuke-kun?" The pinkette asked in confusion. Sasuke however shook his head.

"If it was only a few or he limited it to every Iwa ninja he met during a mission then I wouldn't care but Naruto wants to target even the innocents and civilians. I understand his motives and even agree that Iwa should pay but the thing is they already did. He may not feel like he's achieved his goal but he already has when he killed them at the Exams he took. And before you mention my own desire, my killer is still out there and I'm not going to involve anyone except his accomplices that would get in my way when I finally go for him. If he's on his own then I'll end it with Itachi. If he has allies that will fight for him or that he'll hide behind then I'll take them down as well. It's that simple." Sasuke explained as Sakura nodded. The two paused as their food came up and began eating, Sakura with a bit of trouble due to only using one hand but doing well enough. It was towards the end of their meal though that something they weren't expecting happened. Both were surprised when Hinata came into the establishment, the veins showing her bloodline usage fading as the chakra was cut off and she went straight to them, only pausing to assure the waiter that she was only there to speak with them about something important.

"S-Sakura-san, Sasuke-san!" She called out as she neared them. The two shared a glance before facing her as she looked out of breath and worried when she finally reached them. "P-please tell me K-Kiba-kun is lying!" She begged making Sakura sigh as Sasuke shook his head, both instantly knowing exactly what she was asking about.

"I forgot he was unconscious when Hokage-sama named that a secret." Sakura moaned, getting Hinata to gasp and Sasuke to sigh.

"Look, let us finish eating and then we can head to my place where we'll explain everything since you apparently already know." The teen offered as Hinata nodded slightly. Sakura scooted over slightly so that Hinata would have room to sit and the pair from Team Kakashi continued eating, though it was silent now due to the obvious tension Hinata's worried and confused presence had brought in. The pair finished quickly as they hadn't ordered much and after paying a bill they left, heading towards the Uchiha district where they wouldn't be overheard by someone. It was obvious from Hinata's demeanor that she wanted to ask but was holding herself back since she was told it was a secret. Ten minutes later and the three were sitting comfortably at Sasuke's kitchen table as he began to brew some tea his mother used to make whenever things got tense in the family.

"So, what did you hear from Kiba and how first Hinata. This way we can just fill in the blanks or fix any mistakes he made." Sakura opened up getting the Hyuuga heiress to nod.

"I h-had heard Kiba-kun w-was injured from a short n-notice m-mission and wanted t-to check on him. B-but when I got th-there I overheard him c-complaining t-to his sister Hana about Naruto-kun t-turning traitor a-and leaving the village. I w-went in and asked h-him about it a-and he said Naruto-kun was the o-one to hurt him and N-Neji-nii-san. He then s-said Naruto-kun l-left to Orochimaru!" She explained before hanging her head. "I d-didn't believe him a-and went to find b-both of you for answers. P-please tell me it's all a lie! He... Naruto-kun promised he would go on a-another date with m-me when he returned! H-He can't be a traitor!" She yelled, making both Sasuke and Sakura go wide eyed at seeing how much of an impression Naruto had made on Hinata. The two looked at each other before going back to Hinata only to noticed her shoulders were shaking lightly as she was on the verge of tears.

"Hinata..." Sakura tried to start before going silent. She wanted to help her and tell her that it was a lie because she didn't want to believe it either but it had clearly happened so she couldn't bring herself to lie to her. She also wanted to break the news gently but then nothing came to mind on how to do that. She was clearly at a loss as she couldn't lie to her nor was there anyway to blunt the truth so that it wouldn't be painful to hear.

"He did leave." Sasuke started, speaking rather bluntly, getting the attention of both girls. "He fought back when the team came up to get him back, causing all the injuries on us, Kiba, Neji and Shikamaru. And he did claim he was going to Orochimaru, in addition to saying he couldn't come back because of what he did." When Hinata let out a sob as the tears she had been holding back began to fall his sighed. "I'm sorry, but there's no dancing around the truth. Naruto's a missing ninja now, meaning when we see him again, it'll be our job to bring him in for the village." He admitted while Sakura scowled.

"You couldn't even try to be nice about it?" She asked as he only raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.

"No, because there's no way to be nice about this. The truth is Naruto ran off after fighting all of us and went to a traitor. How would you put that nicely?" He asked in a dry tone getting Sakura to open her mouth to argue before shutting it and turning away. "That's what I thought."

"You could've at least tried."

"Hn."

"Why... why would Naruto-kun l-leave the v-village for O-Orochimaru? D-doesn't he l-love his home here?" Hinata cut back in in-between her sobs as the Team Kakashi pair turned their focus back on her.

"Naruto... he felt the village was holding him back from getting his revenge on Iwa for his old teammates. He also didn't want to go on this training trip Hokage-sama planned for him to go on with Jiraiya-sama because he hates the man for a few reasons. I guess that's when someone from Orochimaru must've contacted him and offered help because he took it." Sakura explained as Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"What I want to know is who contacted Naruto? The way I see it either village security was breached and someone snuck in to give him the offer or we have a spy in the village that was messaged to give Naruto the offer." Sasuke said, speaking his thoughts aloud and getting them both to wonder that themselves.

"Well I guess that doesn't really matter at this point since it's already over." Sakura shook her head before looking up at the ceiling in thought. "What now though is my question."

"D-did Hokage-sama s-say anything about what sh-she would do?" Hinata asked getting Sasuke to nod.

"Yeah, she's going to have Jiraiya looking for him in addition to his duties with his spy network. Kakashi will also be keeping an eye out whenever he's on missions and we plan on doing the same." Hinata thought quietly for a moment before nodding.

"Th-thank you for t-telling me all this." She said as she stood up, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Sasuke nodded as Sakura gave Hinata a reassuring smile.

"No problem. And hey, don't worry about all this with Naruto. It'll all work out somehow eventually. I know it will." She commented and Hinata nodded. She intended to make sure it did.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Jiraiya groaned as he rubbed his head, still nursing a hangover from drinking the previous night. Having Naruto go rogue, maybe not to Orochimaru but still rogue all the same, was a major blow to him. Did he really hate him so much that he'd turn away from the village just to escape him? While there were obviously other factors in everything, the one thing Jiraiya noted that the others wouldn't say anything about otherwise was that he never bothered trying this until he was about to be forced on the trip with him. To Jiraiya, that meant he had been the final straw that made Naruto break away from Konoha. And so he had headed to a bar to bury his problems under liqueur and beautiful women like he usually would to cope. While he didn't get many beauties involved due to it being a regular bar and not a strip club, he had plenty of alcohol as his headache would attest to.

The man himself was walking down the main street of the village on his way out. He was going to get a good start on trying to locate Naruto while also giving his spy network the heads-up to inform him on any news about his godson by first seeing if he could pick up the teen's trail from the Valley. If he could then he'd follow it as far as it went, and hopefully it would go all the way to Naruto so that he could try and talk sense into him before bringing him back. If it didn't, then he'd go to the nearest town and hit up his contacts and put his whole network on alert agent by agent if he had to until news came in.

"Jiraiya-sama?"

The Sannin was broken by his thoughts as a voice called out for him and turning around showed him young Hinata standing behind him, nervously tapping her fingers together and trying to keep her gaze up but occasionally letting it fall to the ground before raising it once more. _'If I remember right, that's the Hyuuga heiress Naruto went out to dinner with.'_ He thought as turned to fully face her. _'What would she want from me? Probably something involving Naruto I'm guessing.'_ Pushing his thoughts aside the man gave her a small smile. "Hello there. How can I help you?" He asked as Hinata tapped her fingers together for a second before seemingly coming to a decision with herself.

"Y-you're going to look for Naruto-kun r-right?"

_'Thought so.' _He inwardly called while outwardly nodding. "Yes I am."

"Please t-take me with y-you!"

"Say what now..?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Now in Tsunade's office with the woman herself as well as Kurenai and Hiashi together Jiraiya was trying to understand just where this came from. Since this could potentially involve a roster change, they went to Tsunade's office. Since Kurenai and Hiashi were her sensei and father respectively, they had been called in. The entire time Hinata had been silent, only wanting an answer, while Jiraiya had been trying to figure out just why she wanted to come with and only really had one idea.

Naruto had really made an impression on her. He'd be impressed and thinking of various Icha Icha scenarios if he didn't already know nothing of the sort had happened between them.

"Alright Hinata, perhaps you could explain what this is all about please?" Kurenai asked as she was just as shocked and confused as Jiraiya was. Hiashi kept up a stoic face but even Hinata could tell he wanted answers.

"I f-found out Naruto-kun left the v-village and I w-want to do my part t-to help bring him b-back. When I heard f-from Sasuke-san and Sakura-san th-that Jiraiya-sama was going to l-look for him I wanted t-to go along with him to help. W-with my Byakugan, I c-could help him l-look in places he w-wouldn't be able to. A-also, it isn't r-right that Naruto-kun should f-feel held back by his home. I w-want to help him know h-he has a lot h-here for him so that h-he'll come back willingly." Hinata explained with a light blush as she felt embarrassed by being the center of attention. The adults all looked at each other silently for a moment before Kurenai sighed.

"Hinata, wanting to help is a good thing but why didn't you come to me or your father with this before hand? I don't mean to demean you but even you know that your Jyuken isn't the best and your skill with the Byakugan isn't the greatest among your clan. Shouldn't you get some more training in first before claiming you could help a Sannin spymaster in his search?" She asked getting Hinata to hang her head while Jiraiya ran a hand down his face.

"I appreciate the thought here kid, really I do, and it thrills me to know Naruto's got a girl like you worried about him but I don't think you should be coming with on this. You're still just a genin and I'm going to be jumping headfirst into a few dangerous situations during this search. I wouldn't want to put you at risk." He told her while Hinata turned to him.

"That's w-why I thought m-maybe you c-could train me a b-bit on the s-side when we wouldn't be l-looking into anything!" Jiraiya grimaced and how earnest she seemed to be and sighed.

"I don't know enough about Jyuken to really help with that and I know you're clan is kinda strict in what they let their ninja learn. No offense." He added with a glance at Hiashi, which the man merely waved off silently. "If you went with me, I wouldn't be helping much besides getting your basic abilities up with things like strength and speed training along with some other minor things. I could probably get you into fuinjutsu if you've got the aptitude for it but that'd be about it." Hinata hung her head as Kurenai placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort and Tsunade was merely listening in silence with a raised brow.

"Take her."

Surprisingly all eyes turned to Hiashi when he spoke in support of her desire. Knowing they wanted an explanation he continued. "I could grant her a few scrolls on our bloodline and taijutsu she could study with you as I know I could trust you to not reveal our clan secrets. Also, teaching her fuinjutsu would be nothing but good for her and the village as a whole as Konoha does not have enough skilled practitioners of the craft. The kind of training you could grant her would actually be perfect for her needs and growth. Besides, while Kurenai has pointed out she is not the best with her bloodline, having a Byakugan at all is still better than none. If you'd be willing to take her with and train her, then I would grant my approval." He finished to different reactions. Kurenai was shocked and only just keeping herself from gaping. Jiraiya was actually considering it now, knowing that this was a major move of trust on Hiashi's part and he didn't want to flat out refuse since he'd actually be given the tools he'd need to do a workable training schedule with the girl. Tsunade though, hadn't changed her expression much, merely raising her brow a bit higher in surprise.

Hinata though was smiling as she knew him well enough to know that this was his way of approving her desire to look for Naruto as well as saying that he believed in her. It told her that he'd still approve of a possible relationship between her and Naruto should they manage to get him back to the village. Knowing this, Hinata was more desperate than ever to get Jiraiya to bring her with.

"Wouldn't this throw off her teams' dynamics a bit?" Jiraiya asked as Kurenai shook her head to refocus before answering.

"Slightly but I know there are other genin without a full team now and it wouldn't take too long to bring them up to speed with how we work. We would certainly miss her but if you decide to take her and Hokage-sama approves then I won't object." The man hummed in response and went back to his thoughts before glancing at the blonde woman.

"Would you be willing to approve this in the first place? That's the last thing I'd need to know before deciding." He asked as she leaned forward and crossed her hands in front of her face. The woman didn't even glance at him but instead put her focus on Hinata.

"Hyuuga Hinata, I want you to be honest with me. The main reason you want to help so badly is because you have feelings for Uzumaki, am I right?" She asked getting Hinata to blush as Tsunade smirked. "Thought so. Knowing that, why should I send you? You're reasoning about a Byakugan user is sound, but in that case why not send a more experienced and stronger Hyuuga with Jiraiya? Why does it have to be you I send? Convince me on that and I'll approve of this." She offered as all eyes turned back to the youngest in the room. The girl fidgeted under their stares before hardening her expression as much as she could, impressive in and of itself considering just how she was, and answering.

"Because I h-have the best chance of g-getting Naruto-kun back w-willingly. It's t-true I care a-about him b-but he also c-cares a bit about me. He e-even promised me he would c-come back from a t-trip so I b-believe he w-will come back. This t-training would also b-be good f-for me and Konoha as a wh-whole. As the h-heiress to the Hyuuga clan, I n-need to be as s-strong as possible and training f-from Jiraiya-sama w-would be the best I c-could get. Please, send me t-to retrieve Naruto-kun." Everyone was silent as they stared at the young girl, Kurenai smiling while Hiashi had a pleased look on his face. Tsunade herself seemed impassive before glancing at the man who looked both resigned and pleased at the same time.

"Jiraiya, would you be willing to take her with you?" She asked, her tone not giving anything away.

"After a speech like that I'd be an ass not to. I'll take her if you say so." The woman looked back to Hinata with a smile on her face.

"Then you go pack your bags for a few years, you leave in three hours."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

_'Alright, time to take a break.' _Naruto thought as he set himself down on a large tree branch and unsealed a scroll. Unraveling it revealed another sealing formula that after he pushed chakra into it released a small bento of food. _'It's not ramen but I can't afford to whip out a fire for every meal.'_ Rolling up the scroll and resealing it into his pocket, the blond picked up the food box and opened it up to begin eating, his thoughts on what had happened and what he was going to do.

After vanishing from Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto had run north along the border while staying in Hi no Kuni lands for a few hours. Once he was sure that there wasn't an immediate tracker on him the blond lightened up slightly and began to use what he had learned about erasing a trail from Daichi and began to do just that while also using the scent dampeners he had on him to erase his smell as well. With both of those things done the blond had then doubled back on his trail from another angle before heading south and then continued past the Valley even further. His hope would be that his original 'goal' of joining Orochimaru would fool them into just heading right into his country but if that didn't work they'd head north until his trail just stopped and vanished. If they still made it to him then he would just have to knock them out and keep moving as he wasn't about to kill anyone from Konoha if he could help it.

Thinking about where to go left him with only a few options but he did have them and was actually planning on hitting Takigakure first. He knew they were the only minor village with a jinchuriki so he was wanting to check and see if Akatsuki had made there move on another before he began his true plans. Being completely honest with himself, he knew it was only a matter of time before Akatsuki learned of his defection and came after him for Kyuubi. However the blond was confident he could set up a few safe spots before the inevitable confrontation so that he'd have a place to run and hide to. At least until he was strong enough to actually take them on, then there would be no running.

_'Yo, Kyuubi? You awake?' _Naruto called out mentally as he continued eating, keeping an eye on his surroundings in case of danger.

**"******I am child. What do you want?" ****The growling voice answered back.

_'Are you aware of what I've done or we're you sleeping?'_

**"******You are referring to the fact you have abandoned your home and are in the middle of nowhere right now correct? I am aware, I watched you throw the pink one over the cliff with much amusement."**** The biju admitted getting Naruto to roll his eyes before scowling.

_'She wasn't going to die you know. It was just a shocking move to get them distracted so I could knock them out easier.' _The demon within him scoffed and Naruto was sure if he was actually in the mindscape of the seal he'd have seen the fox rolling its own eyes at him. _'Anyways, I have a plan now alright? But, as much as it kills me to admit this, it'll need some of your help and cooperation.'_ The blond admitted.

**"******Oh? And what could I help you with child? My powers are aimed only at destruction. Your options with my involvement drop quite considerably." ****Without a word spoken aloud the blond began to explain his goals for the future and even the Kyuubi couldn't help but be impressed at the scale of everything Naruto hoped to accomplish. ****"My my, you are ambitious. However your desires intrigue me. I will help you child, if only you keep up your end of the bargain."****

_'It's a promise then. And I always keep my promises.'_ The blond thought before cutting their connection. At the same time he finished his food and using his gauntlet, burnt the bento box into nothing but ashes and stood up. "Time to keep moving then." Rubbing his shoulders slightly Naruto looked at the sky with a grin before turning his attention back on the path before him and running.

He wouldn't let anything stop him now.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

**Author's Note: **And I'm gonna end it here. This marks the end of part one of my story. Sasuke and Sakura are resolved to bring Naruto back but still mourning his defection while Hinata has managed to spring her way onto a training trip with Jiraiya. Orochimaru has decided to leave Naruto and Sasuke alone for the foreseeable future and focus on some other projects first while Naruto himself is off to who knows where to do who knows what.

Well I know but I'm not telling yet.

Anyways, in other news, I will now be taking a break from this story as I instead go around updating my others here and there since they've been ignored long enough. I may also put out the first chapter to one of my other new ideas while I'm at it. Also, when I do come back to this story I'll be continuing right here. I won't make a new one with the Shippuden half but I'll just keep going here with it. I will though label the chapter differently when I do. Instead of being just Chapter 31 when I post it, it will be 31 – S01 to show that it's the first of the Shippuden half.

Anyways thanks for following this for so long. I'll try and get the next out soon for you all. So please review and favorite!


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